Archive for April, 2008

This story shows just how heartless and bureaucratic some companies, particularly government and benefits agencies, can be. Bruce Attwell is an 80 year old pensioner in New Zealand and has a terminal breathing disorder. He uses an oxygen machine to keep him alive, and relies upon it 24 hours a day.

Naturally this machine uses a lot of electricity, causing his electric bill to become extremely expensive, four times more than it would normally be.

Upon enquiring with Work and Income about a living alone allowance, which would net him an extra $20 per week, he was told he would need to divorce his wife first.

Bruce has been separated from his wife for the last 18 years, but does not want to divorce her.

This is a far cry from what the UK government is trying to do, in making it financially better for couples to stay together.

The full story can be read here.

Clive Bellmore

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Jane Bidder has given some tips on purchasing a property after coming through a divorce, which she says can go some way to helping with the healing process.

The full interview can be read on the Telegraph website.

Jane purchased a bungalow after her divorce, which she admits as a mistake as she was reluctant to move from the area and bought a property that was too expensive for as a divorcee. Much of her advice is based on mistakes she made in buying property after a divorce, which I believe gives what she says a lot more credence.

I loved the bungalow but it was too much to look after. The roof needed repairing and the whole place needed modernising. This would have been fine if I’d been part of a couple but as a divorcee, I had to watch the pennies and do it myself. So I spent most of my time up a ladder. I don’t know if it’s a woman thing but I suspect that we feel we have to prove we can cope, particularly if a relationship goes wrong.

I know what it’s like being faced with difficult decisions with regards to purchasing property after a divorce. You’re not sure if you can afford it, how much you’ll have left after the financial split is agreed and whether the property is right for you.

Clive Bellmore

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US rap star, and co-star with one of my favourite actors Steven Seagal, DMX looks like he may be getting divorced, though sources close to the rapper dismiss the news.

Rumour has it that DMX and his wife Tashera secretly split earlier this year and they may be headed for a messy divorce. Is there any other kind of divorce?

A spokesman for DMX stated: “They’re not getting a divorce; they’re good. They never said they were separated.”

Well that’s cleared that one up then eh?

Clive Bellmore

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Damien Hurst may be famous for cutting a cow in half and displaying it as a piece of modern art, but a Serbian cow faces the same fate due to the ruling in Branko Zivkov’s divorce settlement.

A court has ruled that he has divide up all of his possessions 50/50 to give to his ex-wife, which he was quite happy with, until they said he also had to give her half of his farming equipment.

This outraged Branko Zivkov as much as it would any man, prompting him to buy a grinder and smash up all of his farm equipment, giving her half of every tool. His cow however, has yet to be divided up. He told a local newspaper:

“I still haven’t decided how to split the cow. She should just say what she wants - the part with the horns or the part with the tail.”

Good work Branko, cut everything in half right down the middle for her!

Clive Bellmore

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Chris Tarrant, wayward host of ITV’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, has settled his divorce with his former wife Ingrid, which has resulted in her getting half of their £25 million fortune.

This means poor Chris has played his 50/50 on his own money, leaving him with just £12.5 million to his name.

It is understood she will retain the £3.2 million Surrey house where she lives with their two teenage children, a £1.5 million villa on the Cote d’Azur, a £500,000 apartment in Battersea, London, and a further £1.5 million home in Surrey.

This spells the latest chapter in a run of bad luck for Chris Tarrant, after he was banned from driving last year after being caught speeding in Berkshire, and was arrested for getting into a fracas in a restaurant after someone goaded him into reacting.

You can read more about this from the Times Online.

Clive Bellmore

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When you’re involved in divorce proceedings you’re either classed as the Respondent or the Applicant. The Applicant is the party who has filed for divorce, and the Respondent is the person who receives the divorce petition.

While you may think, that on a personal level, it’s better to get in there first and file for divorce, this will make it more expensive for you… at least in terms of legal costs. The Respondent pays far less than the Applicant, though of course it’s then up to you and your solicitor to agree with your other half how much the whole divorce will really cost you in terms of the financial settlement.

But, by being the respondent you can save some money from the outset.

Clive Bellmore

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We all know that getting divorced can be expensive. As well as giving your soon to be ex-wife half of your worldly possessions (unless you’ve a seriously good lawyer like Paul McCartney) you’ll also have t pay for all of the legal costs, and solicitors are very expensive. Even the rubbish ones cost a fortune.

With this in mind, it may be cheaper for to try a collaborative divorce. This means you and your soon to be ex get together and iron out the technicalities of your separation without the need for a lawyer. Obviously doing this means you do need to cooperate, or collaborate (as the name suggests) which involves talking to each other in a courteous manner.

Something which most divorcing couples refuse to do.

If you can cope with talking to your soon to be ex, the Academy of Collaborative Professionals is offering a free download of a Collaborative Divorce Knowledge Kit.

For a limited time, the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) is offering a free, downloadable “Collaborative Divorce Knowledge Kit.” The kit is designed for individuals unsure of the Collaborative divorce model. It explains the non-court Collaborative process and includes a “Litigation Divorce vs. Collaborative Divorce” chart that directly compares the two models and recent case studies.

Clive Bellmore

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A Malaysian man, Roslan Ngah, is living the dream as he got shot of two wives in three blissful minutes. It took me over a year to get rid of one, and this guy managed to lose two of them in less time than it takes to boil an egg!

What a guy.

According to Islamic laws, a woman can only express her wish to get divorce, but its only the man or a court which can pronounce the divorce.

Now that’s a law worth adopting over here. I’ve always respected the Muslim way of life when it comes to divorce.

The full story can be read on the Indian Times website.

Clive Bellmore

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Scouse comic and TV game show host Les Dennis has talked frankly about his marriage, and subsequent divorce from cheating Amanda Holden in his autobiography.

Les was married to Amanda Holden when she cheated on him with fellow actor and star of Men Behaving Badly, Neil Morrissey.

Les Dennis mentions his appearance on celebrity Big Brother and how he was greeted by a recorded message from his then wife, Amanda Holden, upon his exit from the house.

The Liverpool Echo website has an extract from the novel.

When I came out of the house and Davina said Amanda has taped a message for you.

My heart filled with dread- she couldn’t even be bothered to do it live. Suddenly she was on screen, not alone but with two of her Cutting It co-stars. That was my defining moment. As viewers watched me watch her jabber on about my amazing honesty, the words ‘I love you and I’m proud of you’ never crossing her lips, I came to the final decision that this charade of a marriage was over.”

Clive Bellmore

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