10 Celebrities Who Divorced Before the Ink was Dry on Their Marriage

In the world of celebrities, divorces occur almost as frequently as marriages. These celebrities couldn’t wait to get hitched… and then divorced. Here’s a look at the ten shortest marriages of all time: Read more

Heidi and Seal Divorce: Can a Post-Nuptial Agreement Be Challenged?

Supermodel, Project Runway host, and entrepreneur Heidi Klum has accumulated a fortune worth an estimated $70 million. But is her soon-to-be ex-husband Seal entitled to any of it? Read more

10 Bizarre Divorce Laws

Ending a marriage is never easy. But opting for divorce is made even more complicated by the outdated and sometimes incomprehensible laws still in the books. Divorce is even illegal in some parts of the world, making it all the more traumatic to obtain. While getting a divorce is often considered a sad upheaval in the lives of the people it affects, it can be made even stranger by some of the laws that still exist today. Read more

How To Bring the Romance Into a Prenuptial Agreement

Keeping Romance in Prenuptial Agreements
Almost every article you’ll read about prenuptial agreements starts with the obvious: bringing up the idea with your intended groom or bride is awkward and un-romantic. Well, of course it is! What can be less conducive to fantasies of happily-ever-after than a document that, to most people, seems to be a way of preparing for a divorce before you’re even married? Read more

Whose Last Name Does the Child Carry Post-Divorce?

In New Jersey as in other states discussing children and parenting legal issues, the tradition of a child taking his or her father’s last name was once the standard. In recent years, however, the courts have set a new standard for names, this one is based on what the best interests of the child might be. The court is quite firm that this standard has no relationship to gender-based traditions: that is, it’s not automatic that children should carry their father’s name, if it can be shown that this isn’t in the child’s best interest.

When might it be in the best interest of the child to change names? The Superior Court has listed 4 key factors to be considered in applying this best-interests standard: Read more

Pet Peeves in Divorce Court: Deciding Custody of Animal Companions

Pet Custody and Divorce
For many of us, our pets are just like children. In recent decades, the question of “pet custody” has become a very real issue in divorce courts around the nation, especially when the break-up isn’t amicable. Court battles over pets can get just as nasty as child custody battles — or sometimes nastier. And it’s not an issue that’s likely to go away any time soon, particularly since courts (and legislatures) are starting to address the issue. Read more

Top 5 Ways NOT to Ask for a Divorce

Let’s face it, how you ask your spouse for a divorce matters. Going about it the wrong way can cost you in the long run (financially, emotionally, and in Newt Gingrich‘s case, politically), but going about it the “right” way can help to set the tone for a more collaborative — and less contentious — divorce. Getting ready to share the news? Here’s our list of the top 5 techniques to avoid, and some ideas to consider instead: Read more

Divorce and Valentine’s Day

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.

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Crazy Prenuptial Agreements

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.

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Name Game: Can Your Ex Change Your Child’s Name?

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.

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