10 Extraordinary Divorce Settlements

There have been a number of high divorce settlements over the last couple of decades. Here are the details of 10 headline grabbing examples.

PAUL MCCARTNEY & HEATHER MILLS

One of the most high profile divorces in recent times was that of Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. Mills had demanded £125 million, but in the end was awarded a little less than a fifth of that at £24.3 million after their four year marriage. After the case was finished, the singers' former wife launched a lengthy rant outside the courtroom about the British judicial system.

PHIL COLLINS & ORIANNE CEVEY

In August 2007 another singer, Phil Collins has also been ordered to pay £24.3 million, to his ex-wife Orianne Cevey after 6 years of marriage. This isn't the first time the former Genesis singer and drummer has had to pay out a large divorce settlement. He has been married and divorced three times, and has had to pay a total of £40 million, almost a third of his total career earnings.

SPEPHEN SPIELBERG & AMY IRVING

Stephen Spielberg and his wife Amy Irving had a pre-nuptial agreement before their marriage in 1985. The marriage lasted only four years, but despite the agreement the film director was ordered to pay out a hefty sum. Spielberg, who has directed such film as Jaws and E.T., had to pay a little over £50 million.

MICHAEL & DIANDRA DOUGLAS

Michael and Diandra Douglas married in 1977, but twenty years later Diandra filed for divorce saying that she was fed up with his cheating ways. The divorce that followed took three years to complete, but in 2000 she received around £30 million from her ex-husband. He married Welsh actress Katherine Zeta Jones soon after.

MADONNA & GUY RICHIE

Recently the divorce of Madonna and film director husband Guy Richie has made the headlines. The divorce ended with a payout by the singer of approximately £45 million.

MICHAEL JORDAN

Neil Diamond did hold the record for the highest celebrity divorce settlement when he paid his ex-wife, Marcia Murphy, £75.5 million. This was beaten though by Michael Jordan, who paid his former wife, Juanita, £80 million. The former basketball legend's payout included their seven acre estate and custody of the couples' three children.

RUPERT & ANNA MURDOCH

Rupert Murdoch is one of the world richest people, who has made his fortune in the media industry, most notable as the owner of several newspaper groups. When he and his wife, Anna, first separated all seemed to be amicable. However, the Australian then made the mistake of forcing his wife off the board of the News Corp. This angered Anna Murdoch and things got messy, eventually leading to a payout of over £1 billion. 17 days after the divorce was finalised he married again, this time to one of his employees.

JOHN & BEVERLEY CHAPMAN

London stockbroker, John Chapman, divorced his wife in 2006 in a £48 million settlement. The insurance magnate, who owns global insurance company Axis, claimed that he should keep most of the money because he earned it, but the judge disagreed saying that Chapman's attitude was old fashioned and anachronistic.

MICHAEL & MAYA POLSKY

One of the largest divorce settlements in history was that of Michael and Maya Polsky. The couple got married in 1975 in the Ukraine before emigrating to the United States a year later. In 1980 Michael Polsky started working in energy, the industry that made him a vast fortune. After 27 years of marriage, they divorced in 2003, and Maya Polsky received £120 million. The sum was originally around $3 million less but as if that wasn't enough, the Judge increased it after learning of omitted assets. According to her lawyer, Maya was "very much satisfied with the courts decision". Not surprising really.

ADNAN & SORAYA KHASHOGGI

The amount Maya Polsky received seems a small amount when compared to the divorce settlement between Adnan and Soraya Khashoggi. Adnan Khashoggi is a Saudi international arms dealer, who also owned hotels, banks and real estate, and at one time was worth around £2.5 million. After his divorce he was ordered to pay around £500 million.

Andrew Marshall ©

Divorce Lawyer London.

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The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class

Distinguished law scholar Elizabeth Warren teaches contract law, bankruptcy, and commercial law at Harvard Law School. She is an outspoken critic of America's credit economy, which she has linked to the continuing rise in bankruptcy among the middle-class. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Council Lectures" [6/2007] [Public Affairs] [Business] [Show ID: 12620]



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Top Reasons Couples Divorce - Should You Stay Or Should You Go?

Some of the top reasons that couples divorce or stay together and try to salvage a marriage are because of the children, infidelity or abuse. Divorce should always be the last option as marriage is a sacred bond between two people. However, there are reasons to try and save a marriage and there are reasons to leave one. Here we will be discussing some of those.

Many times in a marriage we often hear people say "We are staying together because of the kids." In fact I knew many a couple that stayed together until their children were in College or almost out of College to get a divorce. They did so because they were afraid of the way their children may react to divorce. We all know some of the horror stories of children who have been scarred because of a divorce in the family. This is decision that must be made between both partners. That if divorce is in the cards, the relationship each parent has with each child should remain strong.

Having an affair in a relationship is also one of the top reasons couples divorce. When a partner has a wandering eye and looks for comfort outside of the relationship, there is definitely a problem. Many times people will just go ahead and get divorced, but when you are deciding if you should stay or go, it may be a good idea to look into why the cheating occurred and if it can be helped with counseling. Even more importantly, you need to decide if the partner that was cheated on can forgive the other.

Finally, abuse in a relationship is yet one of the top reasons couples divorce. Is your partner hitting you? Is your partner putting you down and name calling you in public to humiliate you? What sort of abuse is going on? Is the abuser willing to get help? These are all important questions when deciding the fate of your marriage and questions that should not be taken lightly.

There are many reasons why you should stay or why you should go when deciding on your marriage. Children, affairs and abuse are all reasons that a couple may divorce, but the decision ultimately lies with you. Know that there are people who can help you make this decision. It is a hard one and possibly the hardest one you will ever make in your life. Please be sure to make it a wise one.

Are you on the fence of whether or not you should leave your relationship [http://www.divorceinforeviews.com] Make sure Divorce is the right decision. [http://www.divorceinforeviews.com]

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Filling Law Suits For Sexually Transmitted Diseases

When a person knowingly infects the other with a sexually transmitted disease a case against them can be made. There are legal resources as well as criminal courts which deal with these types of cases. If you are the one who has been infected with the STD then you can get a personal injury lawyer to investigate the details of your case, advise you on your rights as the victim and generally make informed decisions on the direction to take with the whole case. If you are the person who is being threatened with legal action because you infected a person with an STD then you need to get in touch with a criminal defense lawyer so that you can be able to know your defense options.

Different countries have different ways of dealing with these type of cases so you need to get familiar with the laws of your country before going ahead and filing the law suit. The rights to file these cases apply to both consensual and non-consensual victims. Most of these cases are tried as criminal charges. For your case to be successful you need to provide proof that the defendant knowingly transmitted the disease to you without your knowledge and that it caused damages to you. This happens in cases where a person has the disease but does not inform the partner. The limitations of the statute should not have expired so that the case can go through. Statue of limitations vary widely according to the type of the disease which was transmitted.

The victim can get monetary rewards if the filed lawsuit becomes successful. This can be awarded in terms of medial costs to treat the STD, trauma, pain, suffering and emotional and mental distress. Apart form monetary rewards punitive damages can also be rewarded where the defendant can be served with jail term.

For more information, visit our website - a leading firm of Personal Injury Solicitors in Liverpool, who provides a wide range of Personal Injury services.

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Explanation of Contested and Uncontested for the Average Person

Every divorce case must be filed with a court and is given a case number, docket number or identification number. Many types of issues are contained in the document such as assets of the couple, children, support payments, alimony payments and more. Things even appear such as pets, possessions and more! The cases that a court receives are setup for trial which often clogs up the system. Many times the trial is never reached and settled instead which saves all parties thousands of dollars according to some lawyers that we spoke to.

The definition of a contested divorce is where there are unresolved matters between the two parties involved. This could be anything and what is being said is basically "I do not agree with these terms." So in this case the divorce is not finalized and must go to trial.

An uncontested divorce is one where both sides are in total agreement on the divorce and all matters related to the divorce. This sometimes happens but is quite rare as there is so much emotion along with money involved. Sometimes couples separate amicably and do not want to cause pain to the children they have so they opt for the quickest easiest solution which is the uncontested divorce.

Since the idea of divorce is such a major life affecting issue, it is important to thoroughly think about all the angles, and lives involved especially if you have children. These times cannot be erased and anything done or said will remain with you forever. Besides the massive cost of divorce, the emotional toll is far reaching and great. Talk to a counselor, friend or family member to ensure this is the best possible decision. With almost 50% of couples divorcing, it is very hard to be on the winning side. You must prepare yourself and lean on friends, family and colleagues to get through this emotional time in life.

Read more of these articles by our team to help find answers to your questions. Although none of this should be taken as legal advice, this website will help through this tough time.

Our team helps those deciding on divorcing a spouse or already proceeding with divorce with free help and support. Read all our free information along with approved and researched attorneys by visiting our website at http://NassauCountyDivorceLawyers.com today.

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The Effects of Divorce on Children - Part 1

There are very few tragedies that impact a child more than the splitting of his or her parents. The foundation for a child is their parents; both of them.

Going through a divorce creates a tragedy for the child. The effects of the court system undermine the very people the child needs to lean on most: mom and dad. Most teachers believe boys suffer more and are less adaptable then girls. I don't agree. I think boys are more simple creatures so reflect more outwardly the horrible disaster divorce has on them. But there is absolutely no question that the better parents get along, even after a split, the better off children are in both the short and long term.

To understand the effects of divorce on children, we will first look at the divorce process, core problems in the system, then how this affects children.

The Divorce Process

When a young law student wrote to me with questions on Facebook, I mentioned two flaws of the family law system from the point of view of couples going through it. Before I mention those two core problems, there is another, greater flaw from an objective and higher point of view.

The body of family law corrupts what is known as "rule by law" (the basis of Roman and thus English and American law). It does this by the nearly unlimited discretion imparted to judges. Legislators want to allow for almost anything in "the name of" helping the family, thus family law has become a free-for-all that rarely is "just" or beneficial to the family. Unfortunately, numerous practitioners prey on families in the guise of trying to help.

When a couple walks into the courtroom it is never known what the outcome will be until the judge has issued his orders. Even after the judge has ruled, he is not obligated to explain his decision. I have seen sensible recommendations completely ignored. I have also seen insane recommendations turned into parenting orders. Because of this imbalance, polarized parents become extreme in their efforts to preserve their position and often create an irreconcilable riff that will take years to heal, if ever. The stress of going through the family court system always negatively impacts both mom and dad, creating losses that are visible financially and invisible emotionally.

Two core problems with family law are:

1) Court appointed psychologists
2) Court appointed minor's counsel and mediators

Core problem 1 - Court Appointed Psychologists

Court appointed psychologists are are protected by statute even more then an elected official. In California for instance, psychologists have "absolute protection" and can say anything they want without facing discipline of any kind.

I am familiar with one case where a court ordered report was put together by two highly respected clinical psychologists. The report was primarily created by an intern. Despite being her very first case, her findings were signed off by a clinical psychologist even before he met either of the parents. The report was so biased and emotionally charged that it was actually thrown out of court by the judge. Despite this, there was no admonishment of the psychologists by the judge and the 20,000 dollar cost of the report was charged to the unfavored parent. On top of that, the clinical psychologist was hired by the favored parent to give evidence at trial against the other parent, whom he had never even met.

It is incredibly unfortunate that cases such as this are common. Despite the fact that most family law attorneys consider the psychology used by professionals to be voodoo, many judges have stated "it's the only thing we have." It's kind of like using witch doctors to treat patients because there are no real doctors around.

Core problem 2 - Minor's Counsel

The next great problem in the family law system is the freedom of minor's counsel, who acts as the judge's "investigator" in difficult cases. An opposing attorney may not cross examine minor's consul, thus allowing the judge to hear evidence which is completely subjective, and often incorrect. His "facts" are not subjected to the scrutiny of those who may be accused of all sorts of things. In a normal law court, anything anyone says is scrutinized; a process that squeezes the truth out of opposing people's positions. Couples are not allowed this basic right.

Once a couple enters into the family law system, chances are very good the couple will be disgusted with each other for many years, sometimes the most vulnerable and important years for the children.

Paul Friedman, author of http://www.lessonsforahappymarriage.com, entered into the business of helping couples mend their marriages after a very rough personal experience with divorce. Paul came out of an early retirement to become a mediator. His belief was that couples could easily work out the details of separation and get on with their lives. He discovered the truth from his clients: they only sought divorce because the help they found to stay together didn't work.

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First Lady Michelle Obama in the Garden on Health and Nutrition

First Lady Michelle Obama hosts an event focused on health and nutrition, including the harvesting of vegetables from the White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn of the White House. She is joined by students from Bancroft Elementary who will also assist in the preparation of a meal. Bancroft Elementary students have also been involved in the gardens groundbreaking and planting events. (public domain)



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