As a part of preparing for a divorce from her estranged husband, Long Island mother of four Susan Williams hired a private investigator to do some digging on her husband in search of incriminating evidence.

According to ABC News, the investigator that she met with in 2008, Joe La Bella, was a retired police detective in the NYPD now working for a private company called East Coast Investigative Services. La Bella’s investigation did not come up with anything that satisfied his client.

To his surprise, however, she contacted La Bella again through a friend, saying that she wanted to meet with him again.

The client and the investigator did meet again, at a diner, to discuss where the case might go. According to La Bella, Williams vented for a time about her husband and about the divorce proceedings.

Then, in a strange turn, Williams asked La Bella if he knew anyone who could have her husband “seriously injured.” This idea, to hurt her husband with hired help, soon evolved into a plan to have him murdered. La Bella then, as he says it, went into “detective mode,” and pushed Williams to discuss what exactly her plans were, eliciting the murder plot.

La Bella contacted the district attorney’s office soon after the meeting, and with their assistance he set up another meeting with Williams. Under audio surveillance, the ex-detective assured Williams that he could get her in touch with a hit man.

According to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, Williams could not bring herself to say the actual words when pushed about whether she wanted her husband dead.

According to Rice: The conversations that this defendant had were very clear. In the beginning, it was ‘I want him seriously injured.’ And that turned into ‘I want him gone. I want him gone.’ At one point, when the person says to her, ‘do you want him dead?’ She says, ‘I can’t say that word,’ but she nods her head up and down.

A few days later, Williams met with a person she thought was a hit man. In fact, it was an undercover Nassau County police detective. The hit would cost $20,000, he told her, and provided her with a number of chances to back out of the arrangement. Williams, instead of bailing, gave the detective a photo of her husband, his work and home addresses, his license plate number, and a $500 down payment for the hit.

Williams was ultimately arrested by the Nassau County police and charged with second degree conspiracy and criminal solicitation in the second degree. She pleaded not guilty, and she faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

The allegations were made during a bond hearing, in which a judge denied a request to lower the bail set for Williams, which is currently $1 million.

Joe La Bella, meanwhile, was perplexed by Williams’ brash inquiries. I was a little taken back, he said, that she would ask me something like that when she knew I was a retired detective.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as budget problems and economic concerns continue to draw the attention of legislators, politicians are considering whether to pursue a piece of legislation that would attempt to address the issue of divorce in the state, according to the Associated Press.

The Oklahoma legislature is controlled by members of the Republican party, and divorce legislation is a sensitive subject for conservatives across the country.

Further complicating the matter and facing conservatives against each other ideologically, Oklahoma divorce rates are among the highest in the nation, falling behind only Nevada and Arkansas based on 2007 data. There were 28,419 marriages in Oklahoma that year, and 18,851 divorces.

Poverty, teen pregnancy and early marriage are cited as possible causes of the divorce rate problem.

Such high rates of divorce come in a state whose conservative leaders continually stress the importance of family values. Church attendance levels in Oklahoma are among the highest of any state.

Three bills were proposed by the Oklahoma Legislature recently. While two of them were shot down, one has stayed alive and awaits action. This bill would require newlywed couples to attend planning sessions, and that couples who were considering divorce to attend therapy sessions.

Conservatives critical of the bill say that their values dictate that the government should not intrude on the private lives of individuals. One Republican legislator, Representative Leslie Osborn, asked How far do I want government to come into my home and your home about private personal matters?

Those conservatives who support the bill, though, feel that the actual impact of the bill would be minimal. It might provide a little benefit up front to newly married couples, said Republican Representative Mark McCullough said of his bill, adding that it could very well satisfy a compelling government interest. It’s a terrible crisis.

The rift between Republicans has shown the divide between fiscal and social conservatives. And while other issues have brought out this divide, like gay marriage and women’s reproductive rights, the divorce issue is of particular interest given the high rates in the state.

The issue of divorce is not only a social issue, however. A 2008 study showed, for example, that the cost of divorce and single parent child-bearing across the country could be as high as $112 billion.

Such costs have raised the awareness of the fiscal conservatives, as legislators have struggled with a $665 million shortfall in the state budget this session.

Of the two bills that did not make it through to this point, one would have required that couples having marital problems visit a therapist or faith-based counselor before getting a divorce. The other bill would have ended “incompatibility” as a cause for divorces in marriages over ten years or divorce involving children.

The only bill to last has been McCullough’s measure to require pre-marriage planning and troubled marriage counseling.

The more dysfunction you stop up the stream the less you will have to spend down the stream. We need to take this seriously, McCullough said.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

It has now been two years since 12-year-old Nujood Ali ended her marriage to her husband—a man in his 30s—and now the girl has achieved fame around the globe for her bold actions.

The case, heard in a courthouse in Sanaa, Yemen, brought attention to then 10-year-old Ali and the culture of child brides in the country. At the time, the case caused much stress for Ali and her family, making them the center of the debate on tradition and culture in Yemen.

A whirlwind of controversy surrounded Ali’s divorce case, according to CNN, and for the reporter to even get a pre-arranged interview was quite a feat. By demanding a divorce from her 30-something husband, Ali threw her nation into somewhat of a frenzy—breaking the traditional mold of Yemen’s culture.

At age 10, Ali exuded the essence of a child in every way—from her laugh and smile to her childish mannerisms that any girl her age should possess. CNN reporters found during their interview that there was another side to the girl entirely.

In her marriage to a man more than 20 years her senior, Ali had been abused and threatened—but she was no quitter and she fought for, even demanded a divorce so she could win back her childhood that had been ripped away by an early marriage.

Ali’s divorce case caught the world’s attention, and media from several countries covered the story. In August of 2009, CNN reporters once again interviewed Ali—this time to find a more mature young woman on the other side of the table, but one who didn’t seem much happier than she had two years before.

Many supporters of Ali and her family donated money to send the girl to private school and help her family survive, but according to Ali, the money hasn’t helped anything and she even stated that she wished she had never opened up to world media.

According to the CNN report, the girl’s fame has caused even more strife in her family because family members believe they should be living on wealth that Ali’s story should bring, but they aren’t and it continues to make her life very stressful.

A recent article from the Los Angeles Times reports that Ali is now doing much better. She has since co-authored a book with French journalist Delphine Minoui, and the profits from the book are helping pay for the Ali family’s home and schooling.

The book, titled “I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced,” is available on Amazon.com. The girl’s full true story may put a new perspective on divorce in America.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Most religious people look to their pastors for moral guidance, so when religious leaders file for divorce, some ask the question “why?”

If a man or woman of the cloth cannot make their marriage work, how are others supposed to? Successful televangelist Benny Hinn now must face his followers—and his soon to be ex-wife.

Although Hinn preaches the word of God and shares his healing powers with the masses , Hinn was unable to mend his marriage of 30 years.

But Hinn is not your typical pastor. His ministry, based out of Grapevine, Texas, is one of the most financially successful in the world. He has been scrutinized by many people for his lavish lifestyle while preaching religious virtues of modesty and humility.

According to an ABC News article, Hinn’s wife Suzanne filed for divorce in the Orange County Superior Court on February 1. She cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the separation.

The couple had actually separated on January 26th, according to the divorce court papers. Since then, Hinn has been living in an apartment in Dana Point, Calif.

On Hinn’s website, his ministry released a statement saying that “Pastor Benny Hinn and his immediate family were shocked and saddened to learn of this news without any previous notice.”

It continued to say that Hinn attempted to mend his relationship with his wife, but the couple could not work out their issues, and that Suzanne served him the divorce papers without any prior notice.

But according to Susanne Hinn, she filed for divorce because their differences and problems could not be worked out any other way. They were having issues for a couple months prior to the filing.

She also said that she and her husband attempted to work out their issues. They visited with pastors and other faith healers, but they were unable to work things out.

The couple was married in 1979 and they have four children together. Hinn has not released any further statements about the divorce proceedings.

No court date has been set to determine how to split their assets.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

The recession is keeping some couples together who might have divorced in more prosperous times, rather than riding out a difficult relationship. In Detroit, especially, where unemployment and a depressed housing market have hit as hard as anywhere in the country, the approach towards divorce is changing to meet the market difficulty.

Hiring lawyers can sometimes be an expensive proposition, and for those who have it tough financially, hiring a lawyer is not always feasible. According to The Detroit News, local courts are reporting that the number of couples who are divorcing without lawyers is on the rise.

The courts are also reporting the downside of these lawyer-free divorces, which includes incomplete forms and lessons that judges must deliver to inexperienced court attendees. And to go along with the crowded legal offices and slow proceedings, the courts are saying that some couples seeking divorce are missing out on property and custody that could legally be theirs.

Mark Switalski, chief judge of the Macomb County Circuit Court, noted the change in the divorcing couples of today from those of the past. Today, he told The Detroit News that these days couples are fighting over splitting up home and credit card debts, while in the past the starkest challenges came over home assets.

If I’ve got a pot of $100,000 to split up, it’s different than if I’ve got a pot of $5,000 to split up, said Switalski. That factors into their ability to retain counsel.

In Macomb County, the number of couples who began divorce proceedings without a lawyer rose by 16 percent between 2007 and 2009. Lawyers and judges in other nearby counties similarly reported that they had seen similar trends, with more potential divorces representing themselves.

Switalski said that he had to stop the proceedings more frequently to explain legal issues to spouses in divorce cases. The county has even taken to scheduling those representing themselves for Monday afternoons, so that they don’t slow down and disrupt the cases of those who have hired professional legal counsel.

If it was a lawyer in front of me, said Switalski, I’d have a ton of questions and I’d get good answers.

For those representing themselves, the Oakland County courthouse recommends the law library. There is a manual describing how to conduct a divorce without a lawyer, and the library’s director told The Detroit News that the manual is the single most popular book in the library.

While couples can download some necessary forms online, often for a fee, problems can arise when those forms aren’t allowed, and a couple has to leave and return with approved forms.

Predictably, the more complex a divorce, the more likely there are to be errors if a couple is representing itself. And neutral judges can’t offer advice when spouses mistakenly or unnecessarily turn down things they can’t reverse, or miss out on payments or custody claims.

Family law practitioners have offered ideas about helping alleviate this burden. Among them would be to allow divorce lawyers to work on parts of a divorce case, rather than the entire thing, which could reduce fees.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

There has been no shortage of celebrity divorce news lately, with all of the emotional fireworks that the public has come to expect. In one instance, a divorce was undone, and in another, some personal details came out into the light. Sports stars, movie stars and familiar tabloid faces are among those whom divorce has impacted.

Singer and actress Chynna Phillips, a member of the musical group Wilson Phillips, made headlines with a change of heart that has gone public. Phillips she filed for divorce from her husband, actor and brother-to-the-stars Billy Baldwin. Her lawyers filed on her behalf on the same day that she got out of rehabilitation for anxiety issues.

Two days later, however, Phillips changed her mind. She had her legal team withdraw the divorce, with the hopes that she could save her 15-year marriage with Baldwin.

Phillips and Baldwin, recently the star of the TV show Dirty Sexy Money, have three children together. The couple’s manager, Lizzie Grubman, told the New York Post, Every married couple has its up and downs, but they are two people who have been together for 18 years and are deeply in love. They will work through their personal issues and they are committed to staying together.

From a heartwarming reconciliation, to a much more messy affair, it should perhaps not be a surprise that Charlie Sheen’s personal life is once again making headlines. Sheen’s wife, Brooke Mueller, has decided to file for divorce. Making the situation all the more racy are new details that Mueller may have had a bisexual affair with a mystery woman.

The unidentified woman has said that she will expose Mueller’s past, as well as revealing details about her marriage to Sheen. According to the Examiner, Mueller feared that Sheen would expose her past, and that she had not filed for divorce for that reason.

The couple is no stranger to tabloid drama. On Christmas Day last year, Sheen was arrested for assault after an alleged incident of domestic violence against Brooke. According to sources, Sheen became enraged when Mueller told him that she wanted a divorce. Now, according to sources, Mueller has reached her breaking point, and has finally filed for divorce.

Moving to the world of sports, the wife of home run king and scandal-plagued baseball player Barry Bonds has filed for divorce from her husband of 12 years. The Associated Press has reported Liz Watson’s Los Angeles divorce filing. The two have already reached a financial agreement, and in the filing Watson cited irreconcilable differences.

The couple, who were married in 1998, have an 11-year-old daughter together, and Watson is seeking joint custody. Details of the financial agreement were not released in the initial divorce filing.

Bonds has been a lightning rod in the baseball world, for his connections to people who have faced allegations of distributing steroids. Bonds has not played baseball in the major leagues since 2007, after breaking the all-time home run mark.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Barry Bonds, the former San Francisco Giants star, has had a rough couple of years. He was investigated for his steroid use, he retired from baseball and now his most recent wife filed for divorce—her second time filing papers to end their marriage.

Bonds and Liz Watson married in 1998. In June 2009 Watson had filed a petition for a legal separation from her husband, citing irreconcilable differences.

Shortly after, she withdrew her request. No details were given as to why she no longer wanted the separation.

It appeared that the couple was in the clear until now. Watson followed her first instinct and this time she filed for divorce.

Watson filed in the Los Angeles court system on Thursday, February 17 stating irreconcilable differences once again.

Both Bonds and Watson at this point appear to be cordial and willing to handle the proceedings amicably.

According to the Associate Press, the court documents show that the couple has already come to a divorce settlement on how they will split their assets. But no specifics were released.

Per the divorce papers, Watson is seeking joint and physical custody of their 11 year old daughter, Aisha Lynn.

According to the New York Daily News, it was rumored that Bonds allegedly had an affair with a woman named Kimberly Bell from 1994 to 2003, and allegedly bought her a house in Arizona. But Watson did not mention this as a reason for the divorce.

Bond’s marriage to Watson was his second marriage. Before Watson, Bonds was married to Susan Branco. Their marriage dissolved in 1994.

Bonds and Branco allegedly fought over a prenuptial agreement that Branco had signed right before the marriage, which denied Branco a portion of Bonds’ money and assets.

Branco claimed she did not understand the agreement because she was a Swedish immigrant and did not fully understand the language. California divorce courts ruled in Bonds’ favor after a six-year court battle.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

As soon as news of the divorce became public, the split between Los Angeles Dodgers owners Jamie and Frank McCourt promised to be complicated and contentious, with Dodgers fans feeling nervous about the focus that these team owners would be able to keep on the team.

Since the beginning of the divorce proceedings, ownership of the Dodgers has been the most significant contentious point between the former power couple. Frank McCourt has claimed to be the sole owner of the team, while Jamie McCourt argues that they each have an equal share in it.

Well, these predictions are coming true, as the McCourt divorce and the battle over ownership of the baseball franchise have risen to new levels of heated argument and accusation.

In the divorce case’s latest twist, Jamie McCourt has now accused Frank of attempting to understate his worth by hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Jamie McCourt’s assertion was contained in a state court filing recently submitted by her attorney. The claim about Frank came in response to his previous claim that he has been in what the story calls “a tight cash position and unable to provide the level of financial support” that Jamie McCourt has been seeking in the divorce arrangement.

According to the court filing, Jamie claimed that in September of 2008 Frank’s personal financial statement showed his net worth to be $834.9 million. Last June, she claims, a follow-up personal financial statement show that his net worth had declined to $163.4 million. According to Jamie’s side of the story, this second statement with the lower figure was put together following the couple’s separation, and that its figures were “fabricated” via “blatant balance sheet manipulations.” The idea being, in her mind, that it would show him to be worth far less than he was.

Jamie McCourt’s filing also made the claim that the “net equity value” of Frank’s various ventures was more that $2 billion, according to a LA Times story.

Another piece of evidence that Jamie and her lawyers presented to support her accusation of fudged numbers was a private placement memorandum from May of 2009 in which Frank seemed to propose selling a share in the Dodgers “as part of the creation of a global sports enterprise.”

This global sports enterprise would supposedly own the Dodgers as well as Chinese and English sports franchises. The memo offered a 7 percent stake in the enterprise for $150 million, and it showed that it was presented to a Chinese industrial and financial conglomerate called Citic Group.

There were additional claims in Jamie McCourt’s court filing, which included details claiming the couple received $2.3 million in payouts per month from their various enterprises, and that this was largely tax free based on the manner by which Frank McCourt lived “off cash from lines of credit and loan proceeds, which wouldn’t immediately be taxable.”

One of Frank McCourt’s attorneys called Jamie’s filing “astonishing” and “a scorched-earth spin campaign designed to harm the reputation and livelihood of others.”

Whatever the truth, sports fans are guaranteed a competition in the owner’s box that is every bit as heated as what takes place down on the field.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Televangelist Benny Hinn is a larger than life figure as he roams around on stage in front of thousands of admirers, preaching his particular brand of religion far and wide via television audiences.

Recently, however, according to the LA Times, Hinn faced one person who was not as enamored with his performance: his wife Suzanne. At the beginning of February, Suzanne filed for divorce from her husband of more than 30 years in Orange County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. The two had separated in late January, and were living in different residences.

According to a statement from Benny Hinn Ministeries, the celebrity preacher was caught completely unaware by his wife’s divorce filing:

Pastor Benny Hinn and his immediate family were shocked and saddened to learn of this news without any previous notice. Although Pastor Hinn has faithfully endeavored to bring healing to their relationship, those efforts failed and were met with the petition for divorce that was filed without notice.

Benny Hinn is a proponent of the branch of Christian gospel called prosperity gospel. Prosperity gospel teaches that those Christians whose religious priorities are straight will be rewarded with earthly wealth and health. He is also a purveyor of what he depicts to be spiritual healings, involving the traditional laying of the hands upon his congregation’s foreheads and chanting healing words of faith.

Hinn has become a broadcasting juggernaut for Christian television. His sermons are viewed by millions of people across the world every day, and he travels internationally to preach across the globe. To travel on these so-called “Miracle Crusades” across the land, he employs a private plane, called the Dove One.

It’s unclear what the exact financial situation is regarding Hinn’s ministry or personal fortunes. Suzanne Hinn’s divorce filing did not feature any financial information. He has been criticized in the past for his lavish lifestyle, facing criticism from watchdog groups and other Christians.

Even Senator Charles Grassley from Iowa is investigating Hinn along with other televangelists to determine if he has complied with tax laws for non-profits.

Suzanne Hinn’s attorney did not comment on the divorce filing, according to the firm’s policy of withholding comment unless the client approves it.
The LA Times spoke with J. Lee Grady, a contributing editor to the Pentecostal news magazine Charisma. Grady claimed that the Hinn divorce filing is the latest in a series of high-profile divorces and “moral failures” among Pentecostal leaders.

Another fairly recent and highly visible case of such moral failures was that of Ted Haggard, the evangelical preacher who admitted to sexual liaisons with a male prostitute and drug use.

Grady also felt that Hinn’s congregation and audience would feel the emotional impact of the divorce. “It will be devastating to the people who have supported Benny Hinn’s evangelistic work around the world,” said Grady. “Obviously because their ministry has been very public, they will need to issue a statement to their supporters to explain how this happened.”

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

There may be no crying in baseball, but there are plenty of fights that occur both on and off the field.

Take the owners of the LA Dodgers, Frank and Jamie McCourt. The couple filed for divorce in October 2009 and they continue to battle out their complicated issues in the courts.

After 30 years of marriage, Jamie McCourt filed for divorce from her husband in which she cited irreconcilable differences. Since then the power couple has fought over ownership of the Dodgers and other assets.

According to an article in the LA Times, Frank McCourt fired his wife after the Dodgers lost the 2009 playoffs against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jamie was CEO at the time and Frank fired her due to poor performance.

Jamie McCourt said that she and her husband agreed she would remain CEO until the end of the season. In turn she agreed wait to and file the divorce after the season was over.

But things went sour fast.

Frank McCourt claimed that his wife had cheated on him with their personal driver and whisked him away on a vacation at the Dodger’s expense. Now the couple’s main dispute is over spousal support, an issue that appears to be getting harder and harder to settle.

In the initial divorce papers, Jamie McCourt requested temporary spousal support in the amount of $488,000 per month. But she recently increased the amount for alimony to $988,845 per month. Jamie said that her estranged husband lied about his finances to the divorce court and that he had a lot more money than he claimed.

Jamie and her divorce attorney, Dennis Wasser, alleged that Frank used “blatant sheet manipulations” in his 2009 financial statement that he provided to the divorce courts in June.

The financial statement estimated his net work at $163 million. But in a financial statement written nine months earlier, his net worth was valued at $835 million.

Wasser said that “what has occurred here is some extensive planning for divorce court in terms of attempting to diminish on paper the value of the Dodgers.”

Both Jamie and her attorney feel as though she should receive a larger amount for spousal alimony to continue the way of life she has become so accustomed too.

But they also believe that Frank will have enough to money to continue his lifestyle as well. The judge will decide if Jamie deserves more alimony at the hearing on March 29th.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.