James Van Der Beek Files for Divorce

Actor James Van Der Beek has filed for divorce from wife Heather McComb in Los Angeles. Van Der Beek and McComb have been married since July 2003 but split earlier this year.

Van Der Beek and McComb wed in Malibu in six years ago. The wedding took place just two months after he ended his six-year run on the popular teen drama Dawson’s Creek. McComb is also an actor, doing steady guest-star roles on TV. She appeared regularly in the television series Party of Five and The Profiler in the late 1990s. Van Der Beek has also bounced from guest-star role to guest-star role since Dawson’s Creek ended. The former couple has no children.

I would guess that these two have worked out a financial settlement over the  five or six months since they first split. Without child custody and child support to argue about, Van Der Beek and McComb only have to settle the property and debt distribution and potential spousal support.

If they have a prenuptial agreement, the financial issues will be dictated by the terms of that agreement. If there is no prenup, the couple’s community property will have to be inventoried and divided. McComb may or may not see spousal support, depending on the disparity in the couple’s incomes and the level of their marital standard of living. If she is awarded spousal support, it will likely be very short term because of the length of the marriage.