A judge ruled this week that a woman cannot renegotiate her divorce settlement with her ex-husband, despite the fact that his shares have increased in value by as much as four times.
Kim Walkden took her ex-husband Martin to court in a bid to gain some of the money that he received when his company was bought out. The couple were married in 1986, and then divorced twenty years later in 2006. Then just two years later Martin’s company ‘Triesse’ was taken over and he received £3.8 million in the deal.
Originally Kim Walkden received £482,000 from the divorce, which was based on the company’s value of £800,000. As a result of the takeover, Kim took her ex-husband back to court in York.
The divorce lawyer for Martin Walkden, Nicholas Francis QC, made the point that his case was the exact opposite of one rejected by the courts two months ago when Brian Myerson attempted to have divorce settlement reduced because he suffering in the recession.
Lord Justice Thorpe ruled that Kim Walkden could not renegotiate her settlement as the couple had a ‘clean break’ originally.
Lord Justice Wall added that Martin Walkden’s divorce lawyer was correct in his analogy to the previous case, saying that he was:
Entitled to describe this case as the flipside of the decision of this court in Myerson v Myerson.
New figures released by Relate, the UK’s largest provider of relationship counselling, reveal a 66% increase in demand for their services across the country as clients feel the impact of the recession.
Advice on divorce and separation is the most commonly requested advice leading to a huge boom in legal proceedings in 2010.
Government figures estimate the direct cost of relationship breakdown as an estimated £5 billion which includes housing costs, benefits and unemployment. Indirect costs, when considering poorer outcomes in areas such as children and adult health, are estimated at £24 billion.
Further research into counselling figures reveals that the level of the impact of the recession is heavily felt in the South-East and in the Midlands. Relate Centres are experiencing increased demand for their services and also an increase in people unable to be afford to pay for their services.
Claire Tyler, Chief Executive of Relate said:
“Financial stress can have a big impact on the home and relationship problems can be heightened. It is important that people know they are not alone and that help is available. Talking to someone before it becomes too late can make a real difference.”
Relate’s free service for parents can be accessed at: www.relateforparents.org.uk or by texting: 60616
Following the news of her impending divorce last week, model Katie Price has wasted no time in employing one of the most fearsome divorce lawyers around.
Price announced her intention to divorce husband Peter Andre following an awards ceremony last week and has hired the services of lawyer Fiona Shackleton – who has the nickname the “Steel Magnolia”.
The model hopes that she will be able to prevent the case going to court, yet wanted to make sure that should this be unavoidable then she has one of the best lawyers in the world in her corner.
Price is thought to command a fortune of around £40m and was drawn to Shackleton by the way she defended Sir Paul McCartney in his bitter divorce fight with Heather Mills. In addition to this, Shackleton also represented Prince Charles during his divorce from Princess Diana.
Some commentators have suggested that Andre could be entitled up to around £6m which would represent half of what his wife earned in the three and a half years since they were married.
However, the former pop star has allegedly told friends that the two signed a pre nuptial agreement which states that in the event of a divorce then Andre would have no claim on her millions.
Both have left the country following the divorce announcement, Andre to Cyprus whilst Price has fled to a bolthole in the Maldives reportedly costing in the region of £2,800 per night.
Catherine Castle and Bryan Powell seem like a normal couple from the West Midlands. They fell in love with each other whilst already married, got divorced and now live happily together.
Whilst in many ways this is true, the couple are eager to promote divorce and in particular their self named concept of a “dream divorce”.
To this end, they have organised a “Divorce Show” to be held at the NEC Arena in Birmingham which they hope will lead to many other couples achieving their “dream divorce”.
The show will embody practical advice from many financial and legal companies as well as advice on feel good holidays and make overs!
Catherine stated that she had a “dream divorce” and that she wants to help as many people as possible achieve a pain free settlement.
The show is expected to attract over twenty thousand people and will include guidance counsellors as well as sex therapists for those people who, deep down, actually do not want to go down the divorce route.
However, one of the most talked about features is the wedding dress amnesty – where former brides are able to rid themselves of their dresses for charity.
The Divorce Show will be held at the NEC, Birmingham between 11th – 13th September 2009.
It’s common knowledge that divorce rates are continually on the rise, but traditionally the rate of marriages has always managed to stay ahead of it (after all, you can’t have a divorce without a marriage).
However, one US state found that its divorce rate in 2008 rose considerably while its marriage rates dropped. A report from the Department of Health Services in Wisconsin showed that marriages fell in 2008, while divorce rates rose. The state featured just 31,444 marriages in 2008, which was down considerably on the all time high of 41,113 back in 1980.
In contrast, the divorce rate has continued to rise to the level of 16,885. This is just off the record divorce rate in the state, of 17,471 divorces, which was recorded in 2002. Of the divorces in 2008, 16,490 children under the age of 18 were affected.
The highest number of marriages occurred in August, 4,958. Divorce rates however were fairly consistent throughout the year.
With just under double the number of marriages to divorces last year, it is expected that 2009 will see the figures close up even more as the recession affects relationships.
A woman who found out that her husband was also married to two other women doesn’t need to get a divorce, according to US state law. The fact that Norman Simon was already married to two other women means that his marriage to Jamie Griffin wasn’t legal, so the marriage never actually existed.
The couple were married in August 2007 after Mr Simon divorced is wife back in his home country of the Philippines. However, Mr Simon failed to mention that he was also married to two other women as well.
Mr Simon was arrested by authorities after an investigation showed that he actually had two wives already, so Jamie Griffin became his third wife. Mr Simon could now face up to five years in prison for bigamy.
Thirty-year-old Griffin stated:
It really breaks my heart to know I lived with this man for so long and I wasn’t married to him.
He worshipped the ground I walked on and I felt the same way about him. I can’t even describe how I feel right now.
If he would have been honest with me in the beginning, I could have gotten all three divorces. That’s what upsets me is if he had been honest I could have taken care of this for him and he wouldn’t be in jail right now and he would still be here with me.
It is believed by US officials that Mr Simon merely married Griffin to become a citizen of the USA.
Lesbian couple Lauren Wells-Weiss and Shari Weiss have been permitted by a court in Broome County, USA, to divorce in what is believed to be the first ruling of its kind in the US. The ruling has allowed a gay divorce, despite the fact that the couple’s gay marriage isn’t even acknowledged.
The couple were married in Toronto in 2004 in a religious ceremony. The divorce lawyers for both women said the case was a paradox as the judge acknowledge the fact that the couple were married, despite the fact that New York doesn’t acknowledge gay marriages.
Despite the law in New York, gay rights activists believe that the state will soon allow gay marriages to be legalised. To date however there have not been enough votes in the Senate for the legislation.
Last year a declaration was signed by Gov. David A. Paterson which afforded gay couples the same rights as heterosexual couples, giving them an extra 1,324 rights than they previously had.
Wells-Weiss will receive a sum of $3,100 in her divorce settlement but in turn has to move out of the couple’s former matrimonial home. Ownership of the home had to be decided through the couple’s divorce lawyers as they weren’t allowed to enter joint ownership of the property as a couple when it was purchased.
