While most people think of Valentine’s Day as the most romantic day of the year, for a surprising number of couples it’s one of the least romantic. That’s because reports show that divorce filings increase by about 40% around Valentine’s day and inquiries about divorce go up by about 36%. Perhaps February 14th is to divorce lawyers what April 15th is to accountants.
We usually associate prenuptial agreements with finances: how much of one spouse’s worth the other will get if they’re divorced, whether one will get support, who gets the house. They’re don’t really rank high on the wedding cake with doves and hearts flying over it romance scale, but they have their place.
But the dollars and cents breakdown is only one part of a prenuptial agreement now–some people use them to try to define behavior and conditions of their marriage and these “lifestyle” clauses can get pretty crazy. It’s one thing to state who gets Mittens the cat if the couple splits up, but setting out requirements for the number of times they have sex per week? That’s micromanaging.
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
That was a very lovely thing for Juliet to say to Romeo, but the truth is that a name is a big deal–especially when it’s your child’s name and your ex wants to change it.
We all know about dreadful celebrity divorces–the type where the future exes drag each other’s name through the mud, hang their dirty personal laundry out in the tabloids, scrap for every dollar, and argue over child custody issues. Astonishingly, though, there are celebrities who bring their marriage to an end quietly and peacefully. Today’s exemplars of A-list Divorce Done Right are Russell Brand and Katy Perry.
Back in your grandparents’ day, there were plenty of annoying things about getting divorced (aside, of course, from just getting divorced). Your lawyers couldn’t angrily email each other; instead, they had to call and yell at each other, or worse, send irate letters via snail mail. You couldn’t fill out forms electronically, or easily print out as many copies as you needed quickly. Rather, some poor secretary had to sit and painstakingly type all the documents on crinkly carbon paper, all of which had to be tossed out if there was a tiny typo.
However, there was one big giant divorce disaster-in-the-making that they didn’t have to deal with back, oh, eight years ago: social media missteps.
Well, you and your spouse have decided that it’s time to call it quits. Divorce, no matter how amicable the parting, is never a pleasant experience, though, so it’s understandable that you two would want to get this over with as soon as possible.
If that’s your goal, here are five states where you would rather not be living when you file for your divorce, because they’re going to make it slooooow…
Suppose you and your spouse decide it’s over and you want to move on as fast as possible. Two factors play into the speed of your divorce (provided, of course, that there’s little controversy between you): minimum processing time and minimum residency requirements. Let’s take a look at some of the states that allow you to move quickly in these areas.
The rich are different. Their divorces cost more.
What happens when the uber-wealthy can’t make the love work anymore? First, the lawyers make a lot of money. Second, they race to find a spot on this list of the world’s most expensive divorces.
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