Kelly Clarkson is now legally able to drop ‘Blackstock’ from her last name and restore it to its original and famous form after the singer was declared single in her ongoing divorce drama.
According to legal documents, obtained by The Blast, Kelly and Brandon agreed to officially end their marriage while still arguing over money and custody. In other words, they will continue fighting each other in court over their prenup and assets but will do it as single people.
In this case, a judge recently signed off on the pair’s status, and their “marital or domestic partnership status” will end on January 7, 2022. Also, Kelly’s name was restored to “Clarkson” on August 3, 2021.
It should be noted, this is a very common practice in celebrity divorces — mainly because it takes many months to divide up a massive fortune and argue over exactly who gets what. So, either party can go ahead and marry someone else if they so desire. Not that either one in this case is pressing to get married.
Kelly Clarkson Legally Declared Single During Divorce Battle
As we reported, the talk show host filed for divorce from her husband and music manager in June of 2020, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The ex-couple shares two children, River (7), and Remington (5).
The divorce battle has gone on for several months, including a fight over the validity of the couple’s prenuptial agreement, and the amount of spousal and child support to be paid from Kelly to Brandon. Over the summer, Kelly was temporarily ordered to pay $150,000 a month in spousal support starting on April 1, 2021.
According to the documents, Kelly was ordered to pay Brandon another $45,601 per month to “benefit” their children — making the total monthly owed almost $200,000. Shockingly, the amount is based on Kelly’s monthly income, which is currently listed at $1.9 million a month!
‘The Voice’ Star Officially Drops ‘Blackstock’ From Her Name
Now, the former couple will continue their battle over splitting their money and property, but it appears the prenup is going to stick. If it does, Kelly will keep most of the money she has earned throughout the marriage and several properties purchased by the singer. Most likely, the duo will end up settling the case out of court.
There is one more issue that has been nagging at this divorce and might become a central theme in their settlement. Back in September, Blackstock’s company sued the ‘American Idol’ winner, claiming she owed them more than $1 million in unpaid commissions. Remember, Brandon was Kelly’s manager while working for his father — Narvel Blackstock’s company. Kelly fought back claiming that the father and son duo defrauded her of millions of dollars by charging her huge fees while she was working with their company.
Of course, Brandon denied the claims saying that Kelly was not entitled to any of the money earned while she worked with the family business for 13 years. As you can imagine, the case will most likely become a central argument in the divorce case, and we should expect both cases to be resolved at the same time.
