Maria Shriver hires top lawyer
Maria Shriver has hired a top divorce lawyer, but hasn't decided yet whether she wants to divorce Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to People magazine.
It quotes sources close to Shriver as saying Laura Wasser, described as a "prominent Los Angeles family law attorney," is representing Shriver.
"Maria hasn't decided yet if she wants to end her marriage," People quotes one source as saying. Wasser was hired before word of Schwarzenegger's affair became public, People adds.
Meanwhile, the name of the mother of the former California governor's teenaged love child is now known -- and new details have emerged about Schwarzenegger's financial support for his 13-year-old son.
On "The Early Show," CBS News National Correspondent Ben Tracy reported a picture, believed to be taken in 1994, shows Schwarzenegger dancing at his home with Mildred Patricia Baena. She was his longtime housekeeper and the woman with whom he later fathered a child -- a secret they both kept for nearly 14 years.
Tracy says Schwarzenegger himself is now being hounded, as a birth certificate has surfaced showing the child, a boy, was born in October 1997 -- just a week after Shriver gave birth to their youngest son, Christopher. Baena got divorced less than a month later. Settlement papers reveal she claimed she and her husband had no children. Schwarzenegger has been supporting the teenager. He lives with his mother in a four bedroom home in Bakersfield, Calif.
Marty Steelman, a Bakersfield neighbor, told CBS News Schwarzenegger's son is "just a really, really nice kid ... the kid you want to have."
Schwarzenegger, Shriver's kids speak out
Pictures: Children of Camelot
On Tuesday night, Maria Shriver appeared onstage in Chicago with longtime friend Oprah Winfrey at a taping of one of Winfrey's final shows. Shriver didn't mention her husband directly, but thanked Winfrey or having always "given me love, support, wisdom and, most of all, the truth."
So far, Tracy pointed out, this scandal doesn't seem to be affecting Schwarzenegger's Hollywood comeback. He is set to star in three upcoming films, including two new installments of the "Terminator" franchise.
Mike Fleeman, West Coast editor of People magazine said, "The biggest stumbling block will be the promotion of the movie. This will be the elephant in the room. Will he talk about it, not talk about it? It's going to be very difficult."
Many observers are amazed the former governor risked his political and film careers, and ultimately, his family, Tracy notes.
Jack Pitney, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, said, "In Schwarzenegger, you have Hollywood hubris and political hubris rolled into one. And so it's no surprise that Schwarzenegger may have thought that the rules didn't apply to him."
But now, Tracy observed, it seems his long-held secret is finally catching up with him.
CBS News Legal Analyst Lisa Bloom said on "The Early Show" a confidentiality agreement between Schwarzenegger and Baena could be in place.
"We have to assume that he reached an agreement with her, right?" Bloom said. "By which he paid her child support, he took care of her, potentially bought her a house, and in exchange, he got confidentiality. Child support ... modifiable by a court in California. So she could always go in and say, 'The circumstances have changed, I need more money.' She could also ask to get the confidentiality clause lifted. She could say, 'All of this media is happening now, people are saying things about me that aren't true. I need to respond,' and she could ask the court to lift that. The court probably wouldn't, but the court could change the child support at any time."
"Early Show" co-anchor Chris Wragge asked if there's any possibility Baena could pursue changes to an agreement, if one exists.
Bloom said, "Look at it this way: We haven't heard from her so far. I assume that every media organization ... is beating down her door trying to get an interview. The longer she remains quiet, the more I'm going to believe there's a confidentiality clause in place. The way that they're typically drafted is you get periodic payments over time. If you talk, you don't get any money in the future. That gives people a good motivation to remain quiet."
Wragge noted Baena was an employee of Schwarzeneggers for several years. Could she claim she was sexually harassed during her employment in his home?
Bloom said it's unlikely, because there's a three-year statute of limitations.
"He says this all happened a decade ago. Nothing happened since then," Bloom said. "If that's true, then she couldn't bring any sexual harassment claims."
As for Shriver, if she goes forward with divorce, Bloom said she would be entitled to 50 percent of the couple's assets.
She explained, "California is a community property state. Unless there's a pre-nup, she's entitled to half of the assets that were accrued during the marriage. Now a lot of people have asked me, 'Does she get some kind of a bonus because of his reprehensible behavior? Is the judge going to throw the book at him?' The answer is no. It's a no-fault state. A lot of people have affairs and the courts long ago said we're not going to give you a premium because your spouse cheated on you - even if it's egregious as it appears to be here."
However, Bloom added, Shriver would get child support, as well as spousal support.
"She should get spousal support because, look, she gave up her career for him," Bloom said. "She was a broadcast journalist. She gave that all up, so she should get something for that."
If the couple would pursue divorce, Bloom said it would likely not be litigated.
"Surely Arnold does not want to litigate this," Bloom said. "Surely he's going to pay a little bit extra to resolve this and try to move on himself with his career."
Source:cbsnews
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