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Maybe you're not as mad as you think?

04/05/2017

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Don’t panic. Divorce brings out the worst in all of us. But there are also some funny moments. Take comfort from these extreme cases.

The process of divorce is so mind-bendingly frustrating at times that it is possible to feel like you have lost the plot. Maybe take comfort from some extreme cases which may make you feel like the Buddha in comparison.

Take Peter Elliott. He spent four years barricaded into his £500,000 farmhouse after he lost it to his ex-wife in a divorce battle. He turned the property in Appleby, Cumbria, into a fortress, surrounding it with barbed wire, tree branches and fitted CCTV cameras. At the time he said he would only be removed ‘in a body bag’.

He was threatened with a prison sentence should he remain and has now been arrested. To highlight his plight he created an effigy of a man dressed in a suit, being executed on the roof with a ‘justice’ banner next to him.

You don’t necessarily have to be married to act like a crazy person. Details from the now forever unsigned pre-nup between singer Mariah Carey and billionaire James Packer emerged, showing that the businessman would pay Maria $6million for every full year of marriage up to a total of $30million, should they split.  Mariah, for her part, wanted a $50million sum if the pair separated.

Still, while the details of the prenup finally severed their relationship, Mariah did get to keep the enormous ring. So there was an upside. As we write this, reports are emerging that she wants to fine Packer and charge an ‘inconvenience fee’ for time wasting!

Sometimes, the courts don’t help. Can’t work out how to split the house? Can’t sell it? A divorce court came up with an innovative solution, ruling that a brick wall should be built through the mansion of a wealth Russian couple, separating the pair. Wife Margarita Tsvitnenko, 45, claimed a friend had to be rescued by emergency services after being trapped upstairs by the hastily-erected wall.

That was in Russia, however, and obviously it’s way more civilised over here. Ahem.

Divorce – the financial bits

We'll try and help you get the divorce sorted, offer some practical tips and remind you that after divorce and distress quite often comes delight! Hang on in there.

Divorce financials

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