Signed, sealed, delivered. Us Weekly has obtained records of Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert's official split filing, one day after their divorce was finalized on Monday, July 20.
The papers, which were filed two weeks ago under "B.T.S. vs. M.L.S.," on Monday, July 6, only include the initials of the plaintiff (Shelton) and defendant (Lambert). The documents were not filed under Shelton and Lambert's names, and instead, filed under the name of Shelton's attorney, Virginia Henson of Norman, Oklahoma.
The judge involved in the case was district Judge John G. Canavan of Shawnee, Oklahoma, who, as Us Weekly reported on Monday, signed off on the divorce after both parties agreed to the prenuptial terms of agreement. The case was filed in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, under the classification of "Family and Domestic Proceedings" under the cause of "Dissolution."
The petition was filed for $143 on the 6th of July, with an added $6 fee to seal the information. With other charges added to the case, the grand total to dissolve the country superstars' marriage amounted to $193.70.
Shelton, 39, had the papers sealed from the public under the term of "petition for protective order."
The Pottawatomie County District Court clerk tells Us that any further information about the agreement has been sealed. "The whole file has been ordered under seal," the official tells Us. "Everything filed in it has been sealed. You would have to get permission from the judge to obtain a copy of it."
Vikki Ziegler, a divorce attorney and host of Bravo's "Untying The Knot", explains to Us that the term "protective order under seal" means the documents have been concealed. "Generally a protective order under seal means the documents have been sealed by the court," she explains. "So that the public doesn't get specifics about the divorce case, timing of court appearances, and specific factual information about the assets in the case [or] the allegations regarding the reason why they're getting divorced."
Shelton and Lambert finalized their divorce on July 20, hours after they announced in a joint statement to Us Weekly that their four-year marriage was over.
"This is not the future we envisioned," the couple told Us. "And it is with heavy hearts that we move forward separately. We are real people, with real lives, with real families, friends and colleagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and compassion concerning this very personal matter."
As exclusively reported by Us on Tuesday, Lambert will get the couple's Nashville property while Shelton will keep his Oklahoma ranch. The terms of agreement were spelled out explicitly in their prenup, making it easy for both country stars to agree to terms. A source further added to Us that the couple is still "working" it out on how to divvy up their many pets.
