Overview of the Steve Harvey Divorce:
Born January 17, 1957, Steve Harvey is an American actor, entertainer, comedian and television personality, best known for his starring role in the hit WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show. Currently, the comedian is the host of the nationally syndicated radio program, The Steve Harvey Morning Show and the current host of the popular television game show Family Feud.
Harvey first performed stand-up comedy in the early 1980s in various nightclubs in Ohio. As his act got more popular, Harvey garnered the attention of television and film executives throughout the country. In 1997, Harvey got his big break, when he was asked to tour with the Kings of Comedy, along with other notable comedic stars such as, Bernie Mac, Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley.
Steve Harvey has been married three times; he has four biological children, all from his first marriage, including twin daughters. Of the two previous divorces (Harvey is currently married) the drama and subsequent settlement was the most scrutinized with former wife and the mother of Steve’s children, Mary Lee Harvey.
In January of 1989, Steve Harvey, while in Arlington, Texas for a comedy show met Mary Lee Shackelford, a young woman who was working for Fashion Fair Cosmetics. The couple, after falling in love at first sight, married later that year.
The Steve Harvey Divorce marked the dissolution of the marriage between Steve Harvey and Mary Lee Harvey; the Steve Harvey Divorce was finalized in 2005, which ended the 17-yearlong marriage between Steve and Mary Lee Harvey. Although the case of the Steve Harvey Divorce, which was considered by various media outlets as a celebrity, the impact of the dissolution of a union is thought to be universal; amongst the events and undertakings within a divorce proceeding, a divorce has the potential to elicit heightened emotions, such as sadness and loss. Furthermore, the reasoning for the breakdown of a marriage – regardless of the degree of celebrity status – will typically provide a legal framework for the terms and conditions latent within a divorce settlement:
This particular divorce garnered media attention as a result of Mary Lee’s settlement demands: Mary Lee claimed that she deserved a large percentage of Steve’s assets as well as claims to his future revenues from comedy. Ultimately, the court ruled in favor of Steve: the Steve Harvey Divorce Settlement offered Mary Lee $1,000 dollars per month for child support and disallowed her from retaining all property and business owned by Steve.
The Plea of ‘Contest’ and Challenge within the Steve Harvey Divorce:
An uncontested divorce is one in which both parties have reached a mutual agreement with regard to the reasons behind filing for divorce, as well as the placement of fault in conjunction to the breakdown of the marriage. In the case of the Steve Harvey Divorce, both Steve Harvey and Mary Lee Harvey seemed unable or unwilling to negotiate mutual terms of the divorce or reach an agreement upon the identification of fault. Mary Lee was enraged over the settlement; she sued her former husband in the Harris County District Court for swindling her during the divorce settlement. Mary Lee alleged that Steve and his lawyer cheated her into settling quickly and hid the fact that Steve was guilty of adultery, poor and neglectful parenting as well delivering physical and mental abuse. Mary added that during the Steve Harvey divorce she was not made aware of her rights to hire an independent lawyer—Mary used the same attorney as her husband who convinced Mary to settle on the $1,000 per month deal.
As a result of these claims and the fact that Steve has amassed a fortune of over $20 million dollars, Mary Lee’s case was ultimately settled out of court, where it was expected that the ex-wife received somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million dollars.
