Here’s a new way for the ex-basketball player Jason Caffey to keep score: ten children by seven “baby mamas” and one wife. He filed for bankruptcy last August. That didn’t stop a judge in Atlanta, Georgia, from handing down a ruling on Wednesday that Caffey, because he didn’t show up in court, owed one of them, Lorunda Brown, $17,088.87 in legal fees.

The judge dismissed Caffey’s motion “with prejudice.” That ain’t good.

It was a response to Caffey’s failure to turn up in court on his own motion to modify child support to Brown.

Caffey was a professional basketball player in the NBA until 2002. When he filed for bankruptcy last fall, his papers stated he owed $1.9 million, mostly in long overdue child support.

He said he made $11,500 a month from – get this – a string of daycare centers and a sportsbar in Alabama.

He also listed assets of two NBA championship rings (worth $10,000) and a 2006 Dodge Charger (worth $34,000).

His problem, his lawyers said, was that his expenses are $15,000 a month. Thus, he is bankrupt.

His wife, mother of two of his children, filed for divorce last year.

Coincidence?

Bankruptcy does not cancel child support obligations, but it does put a hold on collections until the person filing for bankruptcy sets up a payment plan.

That tripped up another Caffey baby mama, Karen Russell, in April. Russell is baby mama No. 1, having given birth to a son 15 years ago. (She and Caffey met at the University of Alabama.)

Caffey began missing child support payments in, ahem, 1995, she says.

He did, however, make regular payments, when the child support was deducted from his NBA salary, which ran as high as $5 million a season.

(And wouldn’t we like to see those pay stubbs? That must have been a way for him to remember all of the baby mamas’ names.)

Being denied access to your own phone and television might constitute grounds for a lawsuit for some. But when Florida resident Donna Campbell discovered that her husband had done so in order to keep an even bigger offense under wraps — he and 16 other coworkers won the lottery, and he had no intention of sharing — she knew it was time for divorce court.

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The European Economic Union has instituted a temporary measure to limit "divorce shopping," where spouses "battle for the most favorable settlement in different EU courts," explains The Earth Times — most of which involves the speed of processing. Sweden finalizes in six months, while Ireland requires a four-year separation period. Up until 2006, neither party was required to even set foot in Guam to legally split. (Now one party must spend a whopping seven days in the tropical country.)

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As a handful of states legalize same-sex marriage, gay couples will inevitably marry in one state and reside in another. Divorce is another inevitable. The Wall Street Journal June 10, 2008 asks: When the state of residence doesn't recognize a couple's union in the first place, how can the couple dissolve it? Bring the issue of child custody into the mix, and you've got a mess: contradictory state rulings, questionable parental rights, two people who both want to be "Dad" — or "Mom." Such is the case for Lisa Miller (right) and Janet Jenkins, as The New York Times recently reported on their battle for six-year-old Isabella.

UK web site Holy Moly has reported that Madonna met with divorce lawyer Nicholas Mostyn, Queen's Counsel. Not ringing a bell? Mostyn, nicknamed Mr. Payout, most recently assisted Paul McCartney retain the majority of his savings from Heather Mills' grip. If it's all true, Mostyn might have a bigger battle on his hands this time around: Apparently, Madonna and Guy Ritchie do not have a prenup. Could prove to be a groundbreaking case for manimony.

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Jennifer Butler has filed for divorce from husband Bill Murray after more than a year of separation. The two have been married for 10 years and have four children.

Unfortunately, Butler's divorce petition detailed Murray's "adultery, addiction to marijuana and alcohol, abusive behavior, physical abuse, sexual addictions, and frequent abandonment."

Aside from a storied acting career, Murray is co-owner of the Charleston Riverdogs, a South Carolina minor league baseball team — although is official title on the team's web site is "Director of Fun." I don't know...from the aforementioned allegations, he doesn't sound like too much fun to me.

Seriously, though, it must be tough be married to these full-throttle, ad-lib kind of guys like Murray or Robin Williams (also in the midst of a divorce). Maybe the show never stops — and they never stop.

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Saudi men who divorce non-Saudi women are currently allowed to force their wives to leave the country and in many cases never see their children again.

Unlike in Western countries where marriage to a citizen grants automatic citizenship in and of itself, non-Saudi women who marry Saudi men do not get citizenship and can be asked to leave the country at any time. Since the children are the property of their father, the ex-wives can't take the kids with them.

One divorced mother of six who is originally from Syria told the Saudi Gazette that since she got divorced she has not been allowed to see her kids. She is terrified of being expelled from Saudi Arabia and never seeing them again. Her oldest child is only eight years old, and they "still need the care of their mother," she said.

The Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry is in the process of examining possible solutions, including granting residence permits for women caring for their children.
While this is great in theory, I have a feeling that most Saudi ex-husbands will find a way to throw a monkey wrench into the best laid plans. The Foreign Ministry might let the women stay in the country, but the ex is under no obligation to let them anywhere near the kids.

While I sympathize with the plight of these women, there's an element of "What did you think was going to happen?" going on here. We've said it enough times before — Saudi Arabia is not exactly known for its women's rights movement, and the laws are barbaric at best. When it comes to Saudi marriage proposals, let the buyer beware.

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Actor Dylan McDermott will represent himself in his upcoming divorce from Shiva Rose, says the New York Post.

All reported accounts of this news reference his seven-year run as a litigator on The Practice. Seems a bit of a stretch to assume that the actor would rely on his experience on the television drama to navigate his way through a courtroom, don't you think?

More likely, the couple plans to work through the process amicably and McDermott has no plans to take it to court. If that's the case, perhaps the two could benefit from a mediator?

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Heather Mills is planning a seven-day divorce party for her and 25 of her closest friends. The cost? $500,000. Mills plans to fly the group to Necker Island, a private Caribbean spot, to the tune of $49,000 a night.

The interesting bit about this is the fact that Mills was extremely concerned with her public image during the divorce proceedings with ex Paul McCartney. She made a point of rebutting comments that she was only in it for the money, vehemently denying she was a "gold-digger," and emphasizing that she needed proper support to care for their daughter, Beatrice.

But the extravagance of this party seems to speak otherwise.

Don't get me wrong. It's her money now, fair and square. She entitled to do with it what she pleases. Not sure if it's sending the right message, which seems to be a little "in your face, Paul," doesn't it?

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Dylan McDermott and actress Shiva Rose have filed for divorce, according to the Associated Press. The couple has been married for 12 years and have two children together.

Known for his role on The Practice, McDermott filed a petition for dissolution of marriage, citing irreconcible differences.

And they made it so far. In Hollywood, it's like dog years: one year of marriage equals seven in the real world. Twelve years, no doubt, is a lifetime.