Bijou Phillips may have filed for divorce from Danny Masterson to protect her assets from more lawsuits, among other possible scenarios, lawyers say

• On Monday, Bijou Phillips filed for divorce from actor Danny Masterson.
• Phillips filed for divorce less than two weeks after he was sentenced to 30 years for rape.

The timing of Bijou Phillips's filing for divorce from actor Danny Masterson could be tied to strategic legal reasons, after the "That 70's Show" actor was sentenced to 30 years in prison for rape, legal experts said.

While Phillips has yet to speak publicly since filing for divorce on Monday, legal experts have floated multiple scenarios around the timing of the filing. Court documents highlighted that Phillips is seeking spousal support while Masterson is behind bars, while another civil lawsuit tails Masterson — and Phillips could be seeking to protect her assets.

On the petition for divorce, Phillips cited "irreconcilable differences," as the reason for the divorce, which is the first and simplest explanation for the divorce.

On September 7, Masterson was sentenced to 30 years in prison after a Los Angeles jury found him guilty of two counts of rape in a re-trial. Masterson's sentencing came after he was found guilty of raping two women in May, in a re-trial brought by Los Angeles prosecutors after an initial mistrial in 2022.

The couple married in 2011, according to the court documents, and share a 9-year-old daughter together. Phillips requested spousal support and full custody of their 9-year-old daughter — though she said she would still allow their child to visit their father.

A second scenario is that the couple strategized how to divide their assets before Masterson faces further legal action — to protect both of them, family law attorney Holly Davis of Austin-based Kirker Davis LLP, told Insider.

"It is very typical for people who are married to get a divorce when one of them is imprisoned," Davis said. "Danny and Bijou are going to divide their estate and once the divorce is finalized, certain bank accounts, real estate, and other assets are going to be Bijou's separate property."

The three women who were charging witnesses in Los Angeles prosecutors' case against Masterson have also brought a civil lawsuit against Masterson and the Church of Scientology, accusing them of stalking and harassment after the LAPD opened a criminal case against Masterson in 2017.

"Any future lawsuits against Danny won't be able to look to joint assets for payment, because Bijou will no longer be married to Danny," Davis told Insider.

A declaration filed by Phillips shows that since 2018, Phillips and the couple's daughter Fianna have been living apart from Masterson's Los Angeles residence, in a house on a farm in Santa Ynez, California purchased by Masterson.

According to The Wrap, Masterson purchased the farm after the allegations against him surfaced in 2017.

Scott Pilutik, a New York-based attorney, told Scientology journalist Tony Ortega that the splitting of assets — and potentially putting the farm in Phillips' name — could shield Masterson, and her, from bigger payouts in civil lawsuits.

"In any event, it's in Phillips' obvious interest, and possibly even Masterson's interest, to get large assets (such as, say, a farm) into Phillips' name, and soon, and a divorce will accomplish that by way of a partition or settlement agreement," Pilutik said. "If Masterson and Phillips are on the same page, the more assets are divided in a way that favors Phillips, the less will be available for plaintiffs."

A final scenario is that the writing has been on the wall, but that the couple stayed close for the optics of the trial.

After the divorce filing, Phillips' attorney Peter Lauzon issued a statement saying that Masterson "was always present for Ms. Phillips," calling him a "wonderful father."

Throughout the trials, Phillips stood by Masterson's side and showed up in support on a daily basis, sitting in a section of the courtroom reserved for friends and family of Masterson, and at his sentencing she wept.

Had they divorced before or during the trial, Phillips could have been asked to turn against him.

"In this instance, Bijou would have the option to delay divorce proceedings if she thought it might be a benefit to his jury trial to avoid the distraction of a divorce, and the possibility that the plaintiff's counsel would try to use her as a witness against Danny in the jury trial," Davis said.

Attorneys for Phillips and Masterson did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.