Our previous post covered Frank and Jamie McCourt, a Los Angeles couple who has been married for thirty years and is currently in the midst of a high-asset divorce. Frank McCourt is the owner of the L.A. Dodgers, a detail that has allowed the McCourts to live a luxurious lifestyle, but that has also made dividing property from their marriage a complex task.

The McCourts have four grown children, so child custody arrangements are unnecessary to make. The baseball team, therefore, is sort of like their baby in this case because it is the definite source of sensitivity and disagreement in their settlement process.

A trial scheduled for Aug. 30 is meant to hold arguments on how to divide the baseball team, but a recently published update about the McCourts' divorce suggests that the couple wants to try to settle outside of the courtroom.

There are two major reasons why Frank and Jamie McCourt want to avoid trial. First, because they do have children together, the temptation is there to keep the settlement process as civil and as possible. Divorces that take place largely in court tend to get uglier than those settled outside of the courtroom. Not only is that hard on the children, but on the divorcing parties and, in this case, an MLB baseball team as well.

Secondly, sources argue that both Jamie and Frank have too much to lose if their settlement were to go to court. The judge could decide that Jamie has no right to any of the Dodgers' value. She claims that she grew up always hoping to own a baseball team, so that ruling would be devastating.

Jamie has offered to accept half of the share of the team, along with a designated management role if that agreement would save her and her family from a long, potentially hostile trial. Frank does not reject the idea of giving half of the Dodger's worth to his wife, but the problem remains that Jamie and Frank estimate the team's value differently.

Frank and his divorce lawyers estimate the value as it is today. They do not take the potential earnings and future value into account like Jamie and her legal representation are attempting to do. Judging the value of the Dodgers, therefore, is going to be the ultimate compromise of this divorce rather than how the value will be divided between them.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Frank is not only worried about how his wife is measuring the team's value, but he is also upset that she might want an ownership role in the franchise. He reportedly is not thrilled with the idea of co-owning the Dodgers with his ex-wife. 

Resource

Los Angeles Times: Dodger's worth is the sticking point (8/8/2010)