Cruise-Kidman Divorce Almost Final

By Stephen M. Silverman

Tuesday July 31, 2001 01:00 PM EDT

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman will make it official next week. Six months after filing divorce papers in February, the leading man, 39, sought in court in Los Angeles on Tuesday a fast-track finale to his 10-year marriage to the actress, 34. (Neither star was in court Tuesday, reports the Associated Press.) Superior Court Judge Lee Smalley Edmon granted the bifurcation request, meaning the divorce is immediate and will be final on Aug. 8, the jurist said. An Oct. 4 hearing is scheduled to finalize remaining issues, including financial and property claims. A publicist for Kidman said there was no immediate comment from the actress. The divorce petition filed by attorney Dennis Wasser on behalf of Cruise said the couple will share custody of their children, 6-year-old Connor and 8-year-old Isabella. "There are additional separate property assets and obligations of the parties, the exact nature and extent of which are not presently known," the document went on to say.