By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 22:22 EST, 20 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:33 EST, 21 May 2012 . Getting married was a savvy business decision as well as a personal milestone for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, divorce lawyers claimed today. The timing of the wedding, the day after the company's initial public offering, could be particularly advantageous for Zuckerberg, who saw his net worth soar to $19.1 billion. Any pre-nuptial agreement signed by the couple, commonplace for the super-rich when they marry, would have forced Zuckerberg and his new bride Priscilla Chan to agree exactly how to split assets - including his Facebook stock - if their marriage broke up in future. In a marriage without a pre-nup, or if the couple had remained unmarried, she could be entitled to half of his wealth under Californian law. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Wed: Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan married in a surprise ceremony in Palo Alto, California on Saturday . A spokeswoman for Facebook declined to comment on whether the couple signed such the agreement. Priscilla Chan and Zuckerberg share a modest house in Palo Alto, California, where they were married on Saturday. The couple met as undergraduates at Harvard University in 2004. Zuckerberg, now 28, dropped out of college to work on Facebook, while Chan, a pediatrician, stayed to earn her undergraduate degree in 2007. Chan's work led to Facebook creating an organ donation page. Had they continued just to live together without getting married, Chan could potentially lay claim to a much larger portion of assets, including a chunk of his $20 billion in Facebook shares, lawyers said. Robert Blevans, a lawyer based in Napa, California, said: 'In California, people who live together without the benefit of marriage could claim they had an agreement to pool resources and efforts.' Status update: Mr Zuckerberg announced the news on his own personal Facebook page . He said although they are hard to prove, 'those claims can get really ugly'. Mr Blevans cited the case of Anthony Maglica, the founder of the company that makes Maglite flashlights. In 1994, an Orange County court awarded $84 million to Maglica's girlfriend Claire, who took his name and lived with him for 23 years. Although an appeals court reversed the award in 1998, she later negotiated a $29 million settlement. The same logic - avoiding messy court fights - is part of the reasoning behind a prenuptial agreement. 'One of the primary reasons that wealthy people enter into prenups is to prevent the type of carnage that can come with divorce,' said Garrett Dailey, an appellate attorney in Oakland. 'Better to sort it out in advance.' A prenuptial agreement in California typically states how spouses would divide assets in the event of a divorce. The couple usually waives the right to make claims based on community-property laws, which state that any property created after the marriage is essentially community property and should be split evenly after any divorce. Married: The couple have been together for nine years, but did not reveal their engagement . California is one of a handful of states with community-property laws. Most states rely on equitable-division rules, which give more flexibility to a judge in dividing assets. In Chan's case, she could lay claim to a portion of the options and grants in Facebook stock that vest during the time of their marriage, lawyers said. If there were no prenup, or if there were and Chan contested it, she could also try to go after stock Zuckerberg held previously if she could claim it increased in value during the relationship and the increase was due directly to Zuckerberg's efforts. Lawyers said that is hard to prove for publicly-traded companies. 'In an organization of this size, that's not going to happen,' Blevans said. But still, in case of such a clash, it would likely help Zuckerberg that the marriage took place the day after the initial public offering. Sold: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is thought to have bought this $7 million mansion in Palo Alto, California as his first ever home . 'The value of the company is absolutely known,' said Dailey. 'There's no dispute over it.' If the timing of the marriage so close to the IPO was accidental, 'then it was a very nice coincidence,' said Blevans. Getting married after Zuckerberg achieved such a high level of success probably made the couple at least consider a prenuptial agreement. 'If they had gotten married in college, it probably wouldn't have occurred to them,' said Jennifer Saslaw, an attorney at Moradi Saslaw LLP in San Francisco. Lawyers said there was no guarantee the couple signed an agreement, citing divorce cases involving wealthy people such as actor Mel Gibson and singer Paul McCartney who skipped prenups. But they say it is likely they did. 'In every single state, a wealthy person is better with a prenup,' said Dailey. 'I cannot comprehend Zuckerberg marrying without one.' Flotation: Mr Zuckerberg opened trading on the Nasdaq on Friday, the day of Facebook's IPO . Donald Trump took to the airwaves in an effort to encourage Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to insist upon using a pre-nuptial agreement before marrying his longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan. The only thing 'The Donald' didn't know was that said advice was more timely than he expected. The real estate tycoon phoned in an appearance on a CNBC financial show last Tuesday, just four days before Ms Chan and Mr Zuckerberg tied the knot in a secret ceremony in their Palo Alto backyard. Low-key: The newlyweds got married in their back yard in Palo Alto, California . Because Facebook's long-awaited IPO was due to take place last Friday, Mr Trump decided to steer the conversation onto Mr Zuckerberg's increased wealth. Having been divorced twice himself, and going into a very public court battle with wife number 1 over their pre-nup, Mr Trump could be considered an expert on the problem of shielding riches from ex-wives. 'So the question is [that Zuckerberg] has this lovely girlfriend - I'm sure she's lovely - and they get married, and if for some reason over the next couple years they get divorced, and then she sues him for $10billion and she hit the jackpot like no body!' he said on Squawk Box. 'In New York, she would get a big chunk of what he has.' That total continues to grow, and the launch of the Facebook IPO increased his net worth to $19.1billion. While host Andrew Ross Sorkin made the point that since Ms Chan has been dating Mr Zuckerberg since the beginning of Facebook, she could make the case that she would deserve a sizeable amount of her husband's assets. Mr Trump, who low-balled her deserved earnings, said that he could predict her lawyer's case if the issue ever went to court. He predicted that her hypothetical lawyers would argue 'without her and her brilliant decision making it would've never come through and it would have never existed, she advised him and she made dinner for him and she's entitled to $10billion. 'Look, I am notoriously cheap with these things so I would say if she made a million dollars that would be very good.' Financial analysts would likely side with Mr Trump, as agreeing to a set pre-nup saves much legal hassle in the case of divorce. Couple: Ms Chan and Mr Zuckerberg met when they studied at Harvard and have been together ever since . WATCH THE VIDEO HERE .
Donald Trump advised Facebook billionaire to get a pre-nup .
Zuckerberg married long-term girlfriend Priscilla Chan one day after firm went public in $104bn IPO .
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 22:22 EST, 20 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:33 EST, 21 May 2012 . Getting married was a savvy business decision as well as a personal milestone for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, divorce lawyers claimed today. The timing of the wedding, the day after the company's initial public offering, could be particularly advantageous for Zuckerberg, who saw his net worth soar to $19.1 billion. Any pre-nuptial agreement signed by the couple, commonplace for the super-rich when they marry, would have forced Zuckerberg and his new bride Priscilla Chan to agree exactly how to split assets - including his Facebook stock - if their marriage broke up in future. In a marriage without a pre-nup, or if the couple had remained unmarried, she could be entitled to half of his wealth under Californian law. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Wed: Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan married in a surprise ceremony in Palo Alto, California on Saturday . A spokeswoman for Facebook declined to comment on whether the couple signed such the agreement. Priscilla Chan and Zuckerberg share a modest house in Palo Alto, California, where they were married on Saturday. The couple met as undergraduates at Harvard University in 2004. Zuckerberg, now 28, dropped out of college to work on Facebook, while Chan, a pediatrician, stayed to earn her undergraduate degree in 2007. Chan's work led to Facebook creating an organ donation page. Had they continued just to live together without getting married, Chan could potentially lay claim to a much larger portion of assets, including a chunk of his $20 billion in Facebook shares, lawyers said. Robert Blevans, a lawyer based in Napa, California, said: 'In California, people who live together without the benefit of marriage could claim they had an agreement to pool resources and efforts.' Status update: Mr Zuckerberg announced the news on his own personal Facebook page . He said although they are hard to prove, 'those claims can get really ugly'. Mr Blevans cited the case of Anthony Maglica, the founder of the company that makes Maglite flashlights. In 1994, an Orange County court awarded $84 million to Maglica's girlfriend Claire, who took his name and lived with him for 23 years. Although an appeals court reversed the award in 1998, she later negotiated a $29 million settlement. The same logic - avoiding messy court fights - is part of the reasoning behind a prenuptial agreement. 'One of the primary reasons that wealthy people enter into prenups is to prevent the type of carnage that can come with divorce,' said Garrett Dailey, an appellate attorney in Oakland. 'Better to sort it out in advance.' A prenuptial agreement in California typically states how spouses would divide assets in the event of a divorce. The couple usually waives the right to make claims based on community-property laws, which state that any property created after the marriage is essentially community property and should be split evenly after any divorce. Married: The couple have been together for nine years, but did not reveal their engagement . California is one of a handful of states with community-property laws. Most states rely on equitable-division rules, which give more flexibility to a judge in dividing assets. In Chan's case, she could lay claim to a portion of the options and grants in Facebook stock that vest during the time of their marriage, lawyers said. If there were no prenup, or if there were and Chan contested it, she could also try to go after stock Zuckerberg held previously if she could claim it increased in value during the relationship and the increase was due directly to Zuckerberg's efforts. Lawyers said that is hard to prove for publicly-traded companies. 'In an organization of this size, that's not going to happen,' Blevans said. But still, in case of such a clash, it would likely help Zuckerberg that the marriage took place the day after the initial public offering. Sold: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is thought to have bought this $7 million mansion in Palo Alto, California as his first ever home . 'The value of the company is absolutely known,' said Dailey. 'There's no dispute over it.' If the timing of the marriage so close to the IPO was accidental, 'then it was a very nice coincidence,' said Blevans. Getting married after Zuckerberg achieved such a high level of success probably made the couple at least consider a prenuptial agreement. 'If they had gotten married in college, it probably wouldn't have occurred to them,' said Jennifer Saslaw, an attorney at Moradi Saslaw LLP in San Francisco. Lawyers said there was no guarantee the couple signed an agreement, citing divorce cases involving wealthy people such as actor Mel Gibson and singer Paul McCartney who skipped prenups. But they say it is likely they did. 'In every single state, a wealthy person is better with a prenup,' said Dailey. 'I cannot comprehend Zuckerberg marrying without one.' Flotation: Mr Zuckerberg opened trading on the Nasdaq on Friday, the day of Facebook's IPO . Donald Trump took to the airwaves in an effort to encourage Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to insist upon using a pre-nuptial agreement before marrying his longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan. The only thing 'The Donald' didn't know was that said advice was more timely than he expected. The real estate tycoon phoned in an appearance on a CNBC financial show last Tuesday, just four days before Ms Chan and Mr Zuckerberg tied the knot in a secret ceremony in their Palo Alto backyard. Low-key: The newlyweds got married in their back yard in Palo Alto, California . Because Facebook's long-awaited IPO was due to take place last Friday, Mr Trump decided to steer the conversation onto Mr Zuckerberg's increased wealth. Having been divorced twice himself, and going into a very public court battle with wife number 1 over their pre-nup, Mr Trump could be considered an expert on the problem of shielding riches from ex-wives. 'So the question is [that Zuckerberg] has this lovely girlfriend - I'm sure she's lovely - and they get married, and if for some reason over the next couple years they get divorced, and then she sues him for $10billion and she hit the jackpot like no body!' he said on Squawk Box. 'In New York, she would get a big chunk of what he has.' That total continues to grow, and the launch of the Facebook IPO increased his net worth to $19.1billion. While host Andrew Ross Sorkin made the point that since Ms Chan has been dating Mr Zuckerberg since the beginning of Facebook, she could make the case that she would deserve a sizeable amount of her husband's assets. Mr Trump, who low-balled her deserved earnings, said that he could predict her lawyer's case if the issue ever went to court. He predicted that her hypothetical lawyers would argue 'without her and her brilliant decision making it would've never come through and it would have never existed, she advised him and she made dinner for him and she's entitled to $10billion. 'Look, I am notoriously cheap with these things so I would say if she made a million dollars that would be very good.' Financial analysts would likely side with Mr Trump, as agreeing to a set pre-nup saves much legal hassle in the case of divorce. Couple: Ms Chan and Mr Zuckerberg met when they studied at Harvard and have been together ever since . WATCH THE VIDEO HERE .
degree in 2007. Chan's work led to Facebook married after Zuckerberg achieved such a high Friday, the day of Facebook's IPO . Donald Trump longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan. The only