Miley Cyrus is one of the most famous young stars around. She has been a celebrity since 2006 with her hit show “Hannah Montana”, with her real life father, Billy Ray Cyrus, also playing her father on television.

Throughout Miley’s career, she has been characterized as an innocent child. Recently, however, it seems that Miley might be losing part of that image. Miley, who just recently turned 18, was the subject of a viral video which portrayed her smoking a hallucinogenic herb, called salvia, at a party (saliva is legal in many states, including California where the video took place). Many also claim that the former Disney star is dressing more provocatively at her concerts.

Aside from Miley’s public image, her family has been going through struggles. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Billy Ray Cyrus has claimed in a GQ article that the TV show “Hannah Montana” ruined his family. Cyrus said, “The damn show destroyed my family… I’d take it back in a second. For my family to be here and just everybody be okay, safe and sound and happy and normal would have been fantastic.”

In October 2010, Billy Ray Cyrus and his wife, Tish, of 17 years filed for divorce. Billy Ray Cyrus became known for his country music career in the mid 1990s with the hit song “Achy Breaky Heart.”

Billy does more than just blame the show for the destruction of his family. He seems to be very fearful of what will happen to Miley over the next few years. In his article with GQ, Billy claims to be cared for his daughter. He says that, “[Miley’s] got a lot of people around her that’s putting her in a great deal of danger. I know she’s 18 but I still feel like, as her daddy, I’d like to try to help. Take care of her a little bit, to at least get her out of danger.”

He even goes so far as to compare Miley’s situation to celebrities like Kurt Cobain, Anna Nicole Smith and Michael Jackson- all of whom died tragically. There is no doubt that when Billy gave the interview, the salvia incident was fresh in his mind. This would explain the comparisons, particularly because of the connotation of drug use that these celebrities bring.

Billy does claim that he tried too hard to be Miley’s friend and not her father, but he undermines any claim of responsibility by blaming the show. It is probably a host of factors that led to the demise of his marriage, but when he unequivocally states that the show destroyed his marriage, it makes it difficult to believe that he is owning responsibility for his part.

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

There is a 133-year-old law on the books in Japan that requires any couple legally married in Japan to pick only one surname. The problem is that the culture makes it almost unequivocally the male’s surname.

According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, a group of Japanese have filed a lawsuit challenging the law on constitutional grounds.

Japanese culture is very different than American culture in several ways. And while in many areas of the United States women are underrepresented and faced with stereotypes, in Japan women have even less of a presence. In corporate, academic and political circles, Japanese women are underrepresented – instead, women are still expected to do most of the homemaking and raise the children.

The lawsuit is being brought by five plaintiffs, four women and one of the women’s partners, seeking $70,000 in damages from the government. The injury they are claiming is distress. They also seek to force the local government offices to accept marriage certificates with different surnames for each party.

Not surprisingly, this lawsuit also has a political angle.

The Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, and his party promised legislation which would allow separate surnames. However, any attempt to pass this kind of legislation has stalled in the face of the conservatives.

According to the article, Japan is the only one of the Group of Eight industrialized nations that require married couples to have the same family name. What might be even more surprising is that both China and South Korea allow married women to have different surnames from their husband.

China is not a county typically known for being on the cutting edge of progressive social issues, but is ahead of Japan on this issue- at least for now.

The law is neutral on its face and allows the married couple to choose which surname they would like to use. But the only time that it is somewhat acceptable for the woman’s name to be used is if she is an only child and her family has put pressure on her to carry on the family name.

If there is a financial incentive, then it is also somewhat common for the family to choose the wife’s name.

There is growing international pressure for Japan to drop the one-surname requirement. In 2009, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women weighed in and have pressured the Japanese government to change the law.

It seems that the Japanese law is going to change, but when and how is still unknown. But with pressure on the ruling party and prime minister, constitutional challenges and international pressure it seems pretty safe to assume that sometime in the not too distant future, this law will be gone.

Despite this somewhat archaic marriage requirement, Japan does have relatively progressive divorce laws. The country offers for grounds for divorce, including “divorce by mutual agreement”.

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

As part of the divorce process, couples must state the ground for a divorce. Most couples file divorce over predictable reasons: Someone has been unfaithful; the couple has grown apart; fights over money.

Sometimes, though, divorce lawyers and judges hear the weird and wild when it comes to the grounds for divorce.

As this graphic shows, couples across the globe have filed for divorce for some bizarre reasons. To add insult to injury, the desire for divorce was sometimes revealed in awkward and insensitive ways.

Strangest Divorce Contentions

Add this infographic to your site:

<a href=”http://www.totaldivorce.com/blog/2011/02/15/strangest-divorce-contentions/” mce_href=”http://www.totaldivorce.com/blog/2011/02/15/strangest-divorce-contentions/” target=”_blank” title=”strange reasons for divorce”>img title=”strange divorce process” src=”http://www.totaldivorce.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/strangest-divorce-contentions-sml.jpg” mce_src=”http://www.totaldivorce.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/strangest-divorce-contentions-sml.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”weird reasons for divorce”></a>

Strangest Divorce Contentions

In 2001, a woman in China filed for divorce after her pet bird tattled of her husband’s infidelities.

A man in India wanted a divorce because his wife didn’t wear modern-enough clothes.

A Romanian woman divorced her husband of 50 years for feeding stray dogs with their limited pension.

In 2008, a Saudi woman wanted a divorce after her husband of 30 years tried to take a peek of her face under her veil while she slept.

In England, a woman divorced her husband because she caught him cheating on her in an online video game.

In 2009, a German woman divorced her husband because she said he cleaned too much.

A man in India accidentally divorced his wife in his sleep. He was sleep-talking and said ‘talaq’ three times which can be an official divorce in Muslim law.

A man divorced his wife after 10 years when he discovered that she had been lying about her age.

A woman in the UK found out her husband was divorcing her from his Facebook post.

A Delhi man filed for divorce after his wife refused to serve tea to his friend.

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

Anyone who has followed music for the past decade is undoubtedly aware of the band The White Stripes. And anyone who followed anything about the band is surely aware of the bizarre relationship between the two members, Jack and Meg White.

Jack and Meg White were married for several years, but divorced in 2000 (just before the band really made a name for itself).

But the odd things about their relationship is that they continued to play in a two member band throughout the 2000’s. For many divorced people, the thought going on tour in a two person band with your recently divorced spouse would be a bizarre form of torture. But these two seemed to excel at it.

Despite their incredible ability to maintain the band when they couldn’t maintain their marriage, the band couldn’t last forever.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the White Stripes are calling it quits after 13 years together.

The band’s websites claims that there is no artistic differences or health problems, but that the split was “to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band and have it stay that way.”

The statements from the band make it sound like the White Stripes are trying to do what so many find difficult, going out on top.

While this wasn’t an immediately anticipated move, many who have followed the band have felt this day would come sooner than later.

The Tribune article citing a number of factors that may have caused the Stripes to drift apart, noting, “nothing the duo did in the last few years suggested there was much of a future for the White Stripes.  Meg White’s health issues had prompted the group to curtail… its final tour in 2007, and Jack White had occupied himself with other groups… and other projects… that strongly indicated the White Stripes were no longer a priority.”

Now that the group is over, it seems appropriate to appreciate them not just for their music, but also their model of cooperation. There were undoubtedly challenges to their relationship as band members and divorcees, but they managed to overcome them.

They were able to release six acclaimed studio albums and many well reviewed live shows for over a decade.

Some relationships shouldn’t be salvaged after a divorce happens.  But some marriage fail because the two don’t work as a married couple. And the ability to salvage a good relationship after the marriage is something that we should strive for if we find ourselves in that position.

After a divorce, few of us would probably be able to have a relationship anything like what Jack and Meg White have, but the fact that they were able to do what they have done should give us something to shoot for.

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

Making it out big in a divorce isn’t the most common thing, but it does happen to a fair amount of people. Yet many of these people aren’t prepared to handle the family’s assets. Put simply, they’ve never had to deal with anywhere near as much money as they have now.

Granted, this would be a great problem for almost anyone to have: how best to handle a great deal of money. But, it is still something that people need to understand if they intend on keeping that amount of money, because as we have all seen, a few poor investments can wind up costing quite a bit of money.

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune gives some great advice for people who have suddenly come into a large amount of money; be it by the lottery, inheritance, or divorce.

A particularly good analogy in the article describes how most of us are used to gradual money coming in from annual salary. But when we come into sudden money, “[i]t’s like being on the ground floor of a 60-story building and rocketing to the penthouse suite in seconds.”

If you truly have come into a substantial amount of money, it is probably worth your while to hire some people that are experts in financial planning. You can think of them as an investment. They can help you not only keep your money, but maybe even turn it into more.

One of the first things that you’ll have to figure out is how much money you have in real dollars.

When people come into a large amount of money, the often forget to include the taxes they have to pay and their previous debt. If you receive five million dollars, but 2 million have to go to taxes and another $250,000 have to go to paying off a house, your actual number is half of what it initially sounded like.

Then determine what you would like to have. Make a list of the most important to least important things you would like to do with your money.

After you do this, you should consult with your financial planners and determine what is possible. It is very easy to think of thousands of things you’d like to do with your money, but no matter how much you have, there is a limit to it. Nobody has unlimited funds.

Once you have you real number and your plans whittled down into what is reasonable, you can begin to do what you want with the money. The last caveat is that you will have to regularly monitor of your finances.

Just because something is reasonable for you to do today, doesn’t mean that it will be in 5, 10 or 15 years. With simple monitoring of your financial situation, you can enjoy your money for a long time to come.

So if you are going through a divorce and expecting to receive a significant settlement, be certain to have to your expectations in line with reality.

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

Recently a woman from a small town in Idaho has become catapulted to the national stage. The Associated Press has released information about Holly Lahti, who recently won a $190 million Mega Millions jackpot.

While this is big news on its own right, Lahti’s background is what has really grabbed the eye of several in the media.

Lahti, 29, is a single mother who has been separated from her husband for several years. But because they have only been separated and not legally divorced, her husband might be entitled to some of that money. It’s a gray area of Idaho law.

What makes Lahti’s story even more gripping is the violent relationship she had with her husband. In 2003, police responded to a domestic dispute and arrested both her and her husband, which is often common when the police have difficulty in deciding who started the fight.

Lahti’s mugshot from the incident shows her with a swollen black eye and an apparent cut on her chin. The charges were eventually dropped.

This was not the only time that her husband, Josh Lahti, was in trouble for his abusive conduct. Later in 2003, Josh violated the no-contact order and was charged with second-degree kidnapping, possession of drug paraphernalia, domestic abuse, battery and false imprisonment.

Most of those charges were also dropped, but he did serve 180 days in jail and three years’ probation for kidnapping.

When Josh was contacted about his wife’s good fortune, he responded by saying, “That’s awesome! I won’t have to pay child support!”

Jennifer Mayberry wanted to make sure that people don’t judge Holly based on her mugshot and described her as, “kind. She is friendly. She is shy.”

In most states, when a couple has not lived together for a certain period of time, the new assets will be separate from the marital assets. But Idaho divorce laws are a little different and don’t fully explain the distinction.

Elizabeth Brandt, professor of family law, says that there is no case law on this issue, but that Josh should not expect to get a huge windfall.

“I can’t imagine he will have a significant claim to these earnings in the end,” said Brandt.

But if Holly does decide to get a divorce, it is an issue that will have to be addressed. The bottom line is that no one can say for certain how much money Josh will be able to get out of his marriage.

Holly did decide to take the lump sum of the money, as opposed to the annual payments for the next 25 years. She won $120 million which was reduced by taxes to approximately $80.6 million. Either way, the amount of money that Holly ends up with will be a life changing amount.

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