Sunday, October 03, 2010

The first divorce

[Thanks to Ron and Ray]



Good fun. But touches on one of those things I don't get. A friend of a friend fell in love with a Russian girl. The second she was in England and they got married, she got her boyfriend out of Russia, divorced him, and got half his money.
Say wha...? They'd been married for two days! How can she possibly have earned half of everything, in any way, shape, or form? How do the courts justify this kind of thing?

10 comments:

craniac said...

Nice to see a young Betty White. I hadn't seen her pre-Golden Girls before.

Jan said...

Maybe he needed a better lawyer. Two days? This smells like a fake marriage or a case of swindle...

Anyway, NEVER get married. If you do it anyway, let your lawyer figure out how you can protect your assets (pre-nup?).

Think twice before getting kids. A vasectomy is way cheaper than alimony for kids.

ganesha games said...

Marriage is certainly a surpassed institution for most of us. It is a form of contract that really makes no sense today and the law can't keep up with the societal and moral changes.

A sort of renewable contract, that you do every other year or the like AND is is bound by the Quality and Quantity of the time spent together by a couple should be the best option for those who want it. And the few who want a traditional marriage can just check the "automated renewal" tick box.

Philocalist said...

I think the pertinent point here is that it was 'the friend of a friend' ... and I'm guessing that somewhere along the line the story got greatly exaggerated.
I know how the divorce courts work here from experience, been there twice :-), and brother (an innocent party) divorced several years back with 3 kids ... even with the crazy laws in this country, heavily biased towards women in this field (particularly child custody), there is no way at all that any judge could or would make a ruling like that, with those circumstance.
Sure, a few years and a couple of kids later, and it IS going to cost, and 50% of what you have would be a good deal under those circumstances, if she was not working ... any decent solicitor acting for you would likely snap off the hand of an ex wife and kids who would accept it!
In the case of your 'friend of a friend', the guideline (after several years of childless marriage) would be 'maintenance' as it's referred to in the UK, rather than 'alimony', equal to a third of the JOINT wages ... which is usually reduced drastically if it can be shown that the ex either will not work, or is making no effort to do so.

Would I marry again? Sure, it may even be on the cards, but I'm a lot older and wiser now, and would like to think that I could make an intelligent decision, rather than back away / warn others off with a typical knee-jerk reaction as many people do so blithely.

Ray said...

Calling Dr. Pascal! Surgery! Help!!!

What say you, Kind Sir?

baron samedi said...

I wonder where P04-Diddy has got to.

TC [Girl] said...

Jan said...
"This smells like a fake marriage or a case of swindle..."

Probably a 'Mail Order Bride' who filed for an annulment; and...sounds like a "swindle" for SURE!
:-(

Philocalist said...

"Probably a 'Mail Order Bride' who filed for an annulment"

Nope:An annulment means they were never married and therefore no divorce is needed; and therefore NO alimony / mainenance payments!

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

I think P04whatnot is a bit overwhelmed recently with family visiting and a new job and such.

Pascal [P-04referent] said...

Surgery? Why, Ray?
I don't do vasectomies, you know.

Sorry for making myself more scarce than an Earth beach unpolluted by plastic, but I've got a new University teaching position, and several courses to prepare on short notice.
So, I didn't get "vanished" by a voodoo curse, dear Baron, your lordship. ;-) Just finally fell into that space-time pocket commonly known as "modern work".
Oh yeah, and a series of family visits, it's become such routine lately that it almost slipped my mind!

I'll just say this about the main topic (assuming *I* am not the main topic ;-):
If this story is real, it's just another illustration of how notoriously arbitrary judges can be. Are they ever screened scientifically for mentally-imbalanced power-craving tendancies before being handed authority on people's destinies? Nope. Not until one of them is caught wanking under his desk during a murder trial does anyone dare ask the important questions.

I've always felt that we doctors hold a huge responsibility, having people's lives laid in our hands. But while we're usually called to save someone in danger, judges typically get the chance to shatter the perfectly stable life of an ordinary cittizen!

Like someone said once, "In the US you may be able to survive without a Doctor, but you can't live or even die without having a lawyer."

Brooke Shield once posed nude for a respected photographer (named GROSS, no joke!) as a teenager. Photo widely published, front cover of a major photo magazine, mother signed a release giving the guy full copyrights... But three years later, Brooke Shield sued the man to forbid him from any further publishing of the photo, and demanding the negatives.
Conclusion of the story: Brooke eventually lost the case, but the photographer was left bankrupt.
When a very rich person decides to sue you...

Summum jus, summa injusta. Too much justice brings about the greatest injustices. (Old latin proverb.)

OK, gotta go. My first class is in 8 days, lots to do until then.
(What, you thought I'd spend my life sharing the knowledge only to a blog audience where some grumpy people aren't interested? "Hey, I could get PAID to do this!")
(^_^)

But seriously, it's heart-warming to see I'm missed by the "top of the class" here. I'll be back as soon as I can.