When we reported last fall on the divorce of actress Reese Witherspoon and actor Ryan Phillippe, it wasn’t yet clear that the case was still open. Turns out the former couple still had a few things to work out. Like, everything.

A judgment filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court yesterday did finally close the duo’s divorce case for good. Back in October, 2007, the pair were divorced (both became legally single again) – but the court reserved all other issues in the case for future ruling. This meant that there was no finalization of child custody, child support, spousal support or division of property. This is a process called bifurcation – used sometimes when financial and other issues are complex. (See also our report on Johnny Knoxville‘s recent bifurcated divorce.)

Now though, Witherspoon and Phillippe appear to have settled everything and put their marriage behind them. The settlement terms were not made public. It is believed that Witherspoon has primary physical custody of the couple’s two children, Ava and Deacon. The two parents likely share joint legal custody – giving each of them equal say in the decision-making process of child-rearing. It is unlikely that either spouse asked for or received spousal support (also known as alimony or maintenance). And it was reported that there was no prenuptial agreement to guide the division of marital property. Refreshingly, it appears that the former couple was able to work out the details of their split without involving the media.

Witherspoon was represented in the divorce action by attorney Robert Kaufman of the law firm Kaufman, Young, Spiegel, Robinson & Kennerson. Kaufman is currently representing Robin Williams’ estranged wife Marsha Garces Williams and has previously represented singer Jessica Simpson and actress Jennifer Aniston. Phillippe’s lawyer is Gary Fishbein of Buter Buzard Dunaetz & Fishbein. Fishbein has previously represented actor Gary Oldman and rocker Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue. The Witherspoon-Phillippe case was presided over by Commissioner Scott Gordon (yes, the same commissioner in the on-going Britney Spears–Kevin Federline saga).

Library Topics: divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support, property distribution, bifurcation, prenuptial agreements