Actress Ellen Barkin went through a divorce in 2006, but the legal battle is still raging on. A recent article in the Chicago Tribune reports that Barkin’s ex-husband, famous business tycoon Ronald Perelman, was recently ordered to pay $3.4 million to a production company that the two created.

Perelman, whose net worth is approximately $11 billion, will end up paying a total $4.3 million, including additional interest since the legal process has taken so long.

The total that Perelman has had to give to Barkin isn’t known, but it is frequently reported to be in the tens of millions of dollars. What is known is the hefty sum that Barkin has made off selling jewelry she received throughout the marriage from Perelman.

Barkin has auctioned off the jewelry for more than $20 million, which is on top of her divorce settlement. Barkin was quoted as saying that the jewelry were “not memories I want to wear out every day.”

The production company that the two started, Applehead Pictures, was formed in 2005 with the aid of Barkin’s brother George. Barkin’s attorneys were expectedly quite pleased with the recent decision, which upheld a lower court ruling finding Perelman liable for the money.

Barkin’s brother George is known for his former position as editor-in-chief and script writer for both National Lampoon and High Times.

Perelman attempted to argue that Barkin broke their separation agreement and he was thus not responsible for the money anymore. Perelman specifically argues that Barkin has failed to take steps to obtain a “get,” which is a Jewish divorce document.

Despite the valiant efforts of Perelman’s attorneys, Perelman does not appear to have the law behind him. The Appellate Division judge found that Perelman must pay because, “the Barkins’ alleged breaches would not operate to relieve Perelman of his independent obligations to the company.”

In general, as well as in the legal realm, the concept that “two wrongs don’t make a right,” is fairly accurate. It seems the court is rejecting Perelman’s defense to breach of contract because he is merely accusing Barkin of also breaching it.

Barkin has starred in numerous roles, starting with her first feature film in the 1982 movie “Diner.” After Barkin married Perelman, who is also the chairman for the Revlon makeup company, in 2000,  her career has been put on somewhat of a hold.

Shortly after her divorce from Perelman in 2006, she was on the screen again with a role in the widely popular “Ocean’s Thirteen,” co-starring with Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

There may have never been a golfer with more written out his off-the-links antics than Tiger Woods. It is amazing how much the famous golfer has drifted from his moral image of one year ago, before a late night minor car accident began to spiral his life to where it is now.

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune describes the nearly unpredictable fall from grace that Woods has undergone, and poses the interesting question: Can Woods regain his good name?

Tiger Woods was on top of the golfing world and considered one of the most dominating sports figures ever. Then a late night accident triggered a sequence of events which lead to his performance on the course, as well as his marriage, crumbling.

Shortly after the accident, reports surfaced that Woods had been unfaithful to his wife, Elin, many times. This lead to Woods taking a five-month break from golf and a trip to rehab. Despite Woods’ apparent attempts at change, a divorce was soon to follow.

After the divorce, Woods’ performance on the golf course dropped off. After the end of the season, and for the first time in 15 years on tour, Tiger Woods did not win a single tournament. He had highlights, and for most golfers it would have had a great year. But for the man who had such a dominance of the game, it was nothing short of a disappointment.

There is recent evidence that Tiger might be trying to regain some of the support he formally had. Woods kept his media conversations unusually silent around the incident. But recently Woods has gotten his name out there more.

He recently wrote an op-ed piece for Newsweek and even appeared on an ESPN radio’s “Mike and Mike Show.”

Probably the most noteworthy move was when Tiger joined the popular social networking site Twitter.

People in the golfing world have always been more accepting of Woods, viewing him as a golfer and not a role model. The buzz is already building about Woods’ return to the tour in 2011.

CBS golf announcer Jim Nantz is anxious about waiting, saying that, “the turn of the calendar will be the most refreshing thing to happen to Tiger’s game… for those who think Tiger is done or that he won’t pass Jack, you’re jumping off the bandwagon way too soon.”

Woods will almost undoubtedly bring about strong feelings from fans and interested observers next year. And until we see what Tiger is able to do to right the ship, commentators will continue to speculate. But the only way to determine what lays in the future for Woods is to wait and see.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

People are living longer and, if you believe the rumors, divorcing more. This leaves a new group on the prowl for a partner, the retired and single group.

According the a recent article in the Chicago Tribune there are more than 30 million Americans 55 or older and single. The article explains how Census Bureau data was crunched to find the top ten metro areas with the most single seniors.

Many people buy into the cliché and assume that all the seniors retire to Florida, but they would probably be shocked to learn of all the other hotspots for single and retired people. The list is of the top ten and is ranked on the percentage of those over 55 years old who are single.

1. Pittsfield, Massachusetts: A town where more than 52 percent of the over 55 crowd is single. This works out to over 14,000 single women and nearly 8,000 single men. The overwhelming ratio of women to men is a reoccurring theme throughout the top ten areas for single seniors.

2.Florence, South Carolina: 49 percent of those over 55 are single and over 18,000 single women with around 7,500 single men.

3.Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, New Jersey: In this area, a combined 47 percent of the over 55 are single, with around 11,000 single women and 6,000 single men.

4.Jackson, Mississippi: Jackson has 47 percent of those over 55 as single with around 39,000 single women and 16,000 single men.

5. Springfield, Massachusetts: Massachusetts makes a second appearance on the list with Springfield having 47 percent of seniors single and nearly 58,000 single women and just over 16,000 single men.

6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida: This is the largest geographic area and most densely populated area. This area of Florida has nearly 47 percent of those over 55 years old as single which works out to a whopping 474,000 single women and 224,000 single men.

7.Eureka-Arcata-Fortuna, California: From the region with the largest population of retirees on the list to the region with the smallest. This area has about 46 percent of those over 55 single and nearly 10,000 single women and around 6,000 single men.

8. Memphis, Tennessee: This area also has about 46 percent of people over 55 classified as single with more than 87,000 single women and nearly 41,000 single men.

9. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana: The area encompassing the Big Easy has 46 percent of its over 55 population single and nearly 89,000 single women and more than 45,000 single men.

10. Columbus, Georgia: Rounding off the top ten areas for single retirees has right around 46 percent of the over-55-year-olds single and around 21,000 single women and nearly 9,000 single men.

If you find yourself in retired and single and interested in taking a vacation somewhere, then a destination on this list might increase your chances at finding love later in life.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

With surprising timing, Phoenix Suns star Steve Nash announces he and his wife, Alejandra, are divorcing the day after she gave birth to their son, Matteo, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The couple had been living separately for several months but are both committed to the upbringing of all of their children. The couple also has 6-year-old twin daughters, named Lola and Bella.

The Nashes have been together for nine years, and married since 2005. The Tribune reports that two seems to be going as well as they can under the circumstances, with Steve reportedly saying:

(I want) only good things for Ale going forward… I’m focused on ensuring that our children understand how much they’re adored and loved by us as they continue to adjust to these changes. I would ask that their privacy, and ours as a family, be respected as we move forward. This will be my only statement on this.

In an attempt to make good on the privacy request, crews for the radio and television broadcasts of the recent Phoenix Suns game against Sacrament were under orders not to discuss the divorce over the air. Following the game, Nash left the locker room before reporters were allowed to enter, thus avoiding the inevitable questions.

To add more change in his life, some sports websites are reporting that Nash might be traded to the New York Knicks.

Nash has gained a following off the basketball court with his outspoken criticism of the Arizona immigration law. Nash has reportedly called the law, “misguided” and said about the law, that “I think it is unfortunately to the detriment of our society and our civil liberties, and I think it is very important for us to stand up for things we believe in.”

People who agree and disagree with Nash have used his statements to either rally behind the perennial all-star, or to criticism him. Either way, it has put Nash into the public eye even more than an NBA star already is, and this divorce is sure to create more buzz around him.

Nash, a native to Canada, has also had rumors that he was going take his strong political views back to his home country. This, however, turned out to be unfounded when Nash came out and said that the statement was a hoax.

The reason for Nash’s divorce from Alejandra are unclear, part of Nash’s attempts to keep his private life fairly quiet. And with his decision to take no more questions about the matter, we may never know exactly what caused his marriage to end. All the signs are, however, that Nash is moving forward with his life and working with Alejandra to ensure that the children remain as comfortable and happy as possible.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Pope Benedict XVI attacked the ease of divorces and gay marriage in Spain during a recent visit to the country, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Pope was in Spain to dedicate the Sagrada Familia, an immense basilica in Barcelona.  While in Spain, the Pope openly criticized the marital rights of gay couples and the “fast-track” divorce, as well as the increasing ease of abortions.

The Pope emphasized that the Socialist government in Spain should “rediscover Christian teachings” and apply them to everyday life.  But the Pope’s message didn’t come uncontested.

Approximately 200 gays and lesbians staged a “kiss-in” protest.  The main focus of the kiss-in was the church’s polices that consider homosexual acts “intrinsically disordered.”  In step with this protest, several hundred women protested the church’s opposition to birth control, contending that this policy gives women a second-class status.

However, a large majority of the people out to see the Pope were in support of the him, if not necessarily his views on gays and lesbians.  Nearly 250,000 people were in attendance to cheer for the Pope when he formally inaugurated the basilica.

The Pope is known for attempting to prevent the secular trend that has been dominating Western countries and which have lead to recognition of same sex marriage or unions, and the increased availability of birth control and abortions to women.

The Pope has even gone so far as to describe the secular movement in the Spanish government as “aggressive” and anti-church movement reminiscent of the 1930s.  During the 1930s, Spain was increasing in conflict, which eventually lead to a civil war.  During this transition, the church faced violent persecution.

The gay men and women participating in the “kiss-in” all timed a kiss with the passing of the popemobile – the bubbled car that the Pope is known to be shuttled around in.

One of the participants in the kiss-in, Sergi Benavent, a 22-year-old nursing student, said he wanted to show his opposition to those “who want to love in just one way.”

The notion of same-sex rights has been a hot topic in many areas of the world, as the trend seems to be growing to allow legal rights for gay couples.  Most of the justifications for an opposition of gay rights is linked up with religious views of marriage.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Charlie Sheen, the star of the wildly popular “Two and a Half Men”, has filed for divorce to end his third marriage earlier this week. Sheen and actress Brooke Mueller Sheen have been separated since a Christmas 2009 altercation that resulted in assault charges against the famous comedic actor.

Sheen and Mueller were married in May of 2008 and have twin sons together.

The timing of Sheen’s divorce filing is surprising, as it is less than one week after Sheen was hospitalized in New York after causing a ruckus in a luxury hotel in New York City, according to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune.

In his divorce filing, Sheen cited irreconcilable difference.  The divorce, filed in Los Angeles, indicates that the couple did have a prenuptial agreement.  Sheen is seeking joint custody of the twins, but is requesting to not have to pay any spousal support to his wife.

Mueller Sheen quickly filed her own petition for divorce and is seeking sole custody of the twins as well as spousal support.

The two seem to disagree on a lot, but both parties agree that the Christmas day altercation in 2009 was the date of separation.

After the altercation on Christmas, Sheen, 45, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault in Aspen, Colorado.  The prosecutors reportedly dropped more serious charges and the star was able to avoid jail time.  Instead, Sheen had 30 days in a rehabilitation center, 30 days of probation and 36 hours of anger management.

When police showed up to the scene, Brooke Sheen said that she told her husband that she wanted a divorce, at which point Sheen threatened to kill her and brandished a knife.  Sheen admitted an argument and said that he was upset that she had told him she wanted a divorce, but denied that he threatening her or that he brandished a knife.

On the 26^th of October, Sheen was hospitalized after security guards at the Plaza Hotel in New York City reporting that the star was acting disorderly and breaking furniture in his room.  According to reports, Sheen appeared intoxicated at 1:30 in the morning, and the woman with Sheen said that the two had been out drinking and partying that night.

It seems that one bad situation barely has enough time to end before a new one begins for the perennial Hollywood actor.  It seems unlikely that either of these two recent events will have an adverse impact on the star’s career.

Maybe this last incident, linked so closely to his divorce, will be enough for this celebrity to get his life on track once and for all.  Only time will be able to tell.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

The UK Supreme Court has taken a major affirmation toward fully recognizing prenuptial agreements, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Traditionally, the United Kingdom has refused to recognize prenuptial agreements as valid binding agreements.  But on October 20^th the court ruled “in favor of a German heiress seeking to protect her considerable fortune from her ex-husband.”

With a strong 8-1 vote, the Supreme Court, lead by Nicholas Phillips (president of the Supreme Court), allowed an Appeals Court ruling to stand which upheld the legality of the prenuptial agreement.

The case was full of potential international law problems.  Katrin Radmacher, 40, a paper industry heiress with at least $86.5 million U.S. dollars, is from Germany.  Her ex-husband, Nicolas Granatino, 39 is a former investment banker from France.  He was attempting to receive a larger portion of Radmacher’s fortune than was prescribed for in the prenuptial agreement.

The prenuptial agreement was signed in Germany, but since the marriage was under English law, the couple lived in England, and the divorce was filed there, the courts were able to apply English law and not rely on complex international law.

Radmacher’s lawyer sees this case as setting a precedent for all prenuptial agreements in the United Kingdom.  Shortly after the judges verdict her lawyer, Simon Bruce, said that this, “means pre-nups are binding as long as they are fair.

Others aren’t as sure that this case will be as major a change.  Sharon Bennett, a family law expert at a North London firm, thinks that the law is unlikely to change as a whole as a result of this one case.

Granatino still received 1 million British Pounds from the divorce, roughly 1.57 million U.S. dollars.  And early on in the marriage, Granatino was earning a full 300,000 pounds, or approximately $471,000 U.S., a year as an investment banker.  In 2003, Granatino left his job to attain a doctorate in biotechnology at Oxford University, and now is only making a faction of his former salary.

The current ambiguous law about prenuptial agreements is going to be reviewed by Britain’s Law Commission.  The catch is, the review isn’t going to happen until 2012.

Until the review of the law, a dangerous level of ambiguity will continue to surround the status of prenuptial agreements in Great Britain.  It is pretty astonishing that in a country like the United Kingdom, the law would be so confusing over such an important topic to many people.

It seems like it should be central to most modern laws to allow private parties to contract to agreements.  Especially when these agreements would aid the courts in reducing cases.  If the United Kingdom does allow for prenuptial agreements, like most countries, then the court will no longer be put in the position of having to decide who gets what property. These decisions can be left to the parties to determine early on.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Kelsey Grammer has had a very public divorce from his wife Camille Grammer. Now Camille Grammer one of the new members of Bravo’s “Real Housewives” franchise, and she says the show has helped her move on, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The couple, once a power couple in Hollywood, had been married for 13 years. The pair also have two children, 9-year-old daughter Mason and 6-year-old son Jude.

Camille, a 42-year-old former Playboy model, said that she is “glad that I decided to do the show because it’s been a diversion… I have these wonderful, fine very strong successful women right there supporting me through this.”

Part of the reason that the divorce gained so many headlines was the lack of a prenuptial agreement between the two. This allows Camille to try and receive portions of the money Kelsey received during his star role on the popular television show Frasier.

Adding to the drama was the fact that shortly after the divorce proceedings began, Kelsey began to move on. In the middle of the divorce, Kelsey moved in with his new love, a 29-year-old Virgin Atlantic employee.

Camille said that, at the time the divorce started, she had no idea the divorce was on the horizon. It was a surprise to her.

During the first episode of the “Real Housewives” season, the two were together, and when Camille watched it she said “I was hard for me. It definitely brought a tear to my eye… I think I give him a kiss (goodbye) and say ‘I love him.’ I was supposed to move in that summer.”

This isn’t the first time that there has been an emotional rollercoaster being shown on “Real Housewives”. But that it is a positive aspect to see it as a healing period for the people involved in the separation.

When we watch celebrity divorces and marriages, it’s easy to forget that they are real people and the relationship are real. The pain felt by a famous person is no different that the pain we all feel in tough situations.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to separate celebrities’ personal lives from their public lives. With the 24-hour news cycle and the intense spotlight on celebrities, we feel like their whole lives are around to entertain us. If we see a couple getting together, and we don’t think it’s going to work out, it’s easy to be cynical.

But just because many people expected a celebrity couple to divorce doesn’t mean that the pain the two feel is any less. When celebrities have little or no distinction between their public and private lives, we begin to take the moments that shape their lives as entertainment for ours.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

One of the more commonly known marital statistics is that people without college degrees were more likely to be, or have been, married by their 30s than those with college degrees. This was true in the 1990s, but apparently is no longer the case.

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune outlines a recent study done by the Pew Research Center analysis of census which showed that, among 30-year-olds, 75 percent with a bachelor’s degree were or had been married, and 69 percent of people without a bachelor’s degree either were or had been married.

Part of the increase is attributed to unmarried couples living together. This trend seems to be more focused in the couples that are not college educated, but is rising across the board.

Richard Fry, a senior researcher at Pew, was responsible for writing the report and explains that, “the labor market has not been kind to young, less educated workers… College used to delay marriage. Now, not completing college delays marriage.”

The implications from the article are unclear, but it is an interesting trend to watch. What is also unclear is how this is exactly related to the increase in individuals gaining a college education.

There were several other finds from the study:

• Over 90 percent of U.S. adults marry sometime in their life. This means Americans marry at higher levels than most other Western countries.
• Adults with less education are more likely to divorce. Around 2.9 percent of adults between the ages of 35 and 39 without college degrees, as compared to 1.6 percent with college degrees, saw their first marriage end in divorce last year.
• Married adults seem to make more money. In one earner households, the median income of a married adult was $63,000, while unmarried adults in one earner households were significantly less, earning a median salary of $53,000.

These types of census studies can give valuable insight into what is happening in our country. What these studies cannot do is fully explain why things are happening. This study shows several general trends, but we cannot make the cognitive leap and claim to know exactly why it is that statistically, a higher percentage of people with bachelor’s degrees will be married than people without bachelor’s degrees.

This study seems to set up an interesting follow up study. We know that the percentage of people without college educations who are married is less than those that are married, it would be interesting to see how those numbers match up to the increase in overall education. It seems that there are two trends working here, and the interplay between them hasn’t yet been worked out, but could lead to interesting results.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

We all know someone who was raised by divorced parents who didn’t get along with each other; in fact, many of us had that as a reality for our childhood. Now, there is a bitter debate among the American Psychiatric Association about whether parental alienation should be classified as an official disorder.

Parental alienation occurs when a child’s relationship with one estranged parent is poisoned by the other parent. According to the Associated Press, there is a generally agreement that this does occur, and is usually triggered during the child-custody dispute of a divorce.

But experts disagree on whether or not to officially classify this as a disease.

Dr. Darrel Regier, vice chair of the task force which is drafting the manual says that they have, “gotten an enormous amount of mail – more than any other issue. The passions on both sides of this are exceptional.”

Feminists are the driving side which would rather not have parental alienation as a disorder. This is because, as advocates for battered women, they feel if this is categorized as a syndrome, abusive men could use it to deflect attention from their abusive behavior.

Essentially, it would allow men who, based on their actions, would be disliked by their children, to claim that it is the woman’s fault.
Joan Meier, a professor at the George Washington University Law School and expert on domestic violence and child custody says that parental alienation “is a fabricated notion – there’s no science to support it.”

Many oppose this view point, however. The people who want this categorized as a disorder say that “recognition of parental alienation in the psychiatrists’ manual would lead to fairer outcomes in family courts and enable more children of divorce to get treatment so they could reconcile with an estranged parent.”

Parental alienation has begun to enter the legal realm as well. It is often used when a male is attempting to gain custody of a child when the child is reluctant to go with him. This was put in the public eye during the infamous divorce between Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger.

During the divorce, Baldwin received sharp criticism from feminist groups for citing parental alienation syndrome as the course of his estrangement with his daughter.

It is a difficult legal maneuver to succeed with. Since the disorder isn’t currently recognized, it is difficult to prove that it is happening. Furthermore, it is a new concept to court rooms, so the weight to assign to it, and how to establish that the wife caused the poisoning is very difficult.

As the debate unfolds, the ramifications for the legal as well as psychiatric circle will be flushed out.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.