You've heard of speed-dating, but how about speed-divorcing? England has recently set into motion a new process to allow couples who have no disputes to sail through proceedings, bypassing the court queue entirely, says The Telegraph.

If couples can agree to all terms of a separation or divorce via a four-way, face-to-face talk, they'll hit the fast-track. While a traditional case takes three to four months, the new procedure is lightening fast. Says the article:

Provided every aspect of the case had been agreed and the hearing would last no more than 10 minutes, all that was needed was a day's notice to the court and a chance for the judge to read the papers overnight.

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Should the couple hit a snag, though, they'll be back at square one in the courtroom waiting line — and will incur additional expenses. Perhaps Madonna and Guy will utilize the new system...

According to the American Psychological Association's new "Stress in America" study, "the declining state of the Nation's economy is taking a physical and emotional toll on people nationwide, and it is women who are bearing the brunt of financial stress."

The study confirms that women are more stressed about money (83 percent of women versus 78 percent of men) and the economy (84 percent versus 75 percent).

Financial stress is clearly a global issue and is, in fact, the main cause of divorce for Australian women, reports The Brisbane Times. More than one-third of women cite money as the reason for break-ups, divorce, and relationship stress.

Why more women than men? Researchers suggest that in times of economic crisis, women are more aware of mounting bills and expenses, particularly with regard to children. Consequently, they feel stress, and that stress carries into the relationship.

And economic crisis it is. The number of Australians citing financial insecurity as a relationship stressor has doubled since 2006.

After going through the stress of many in vitro fertilizations, I vivdly remember signing a paper giving the unused embryos to scientific research. In my mind, it was the least I could do since, thanks to this modern day miracle, I could possible conceive the child I so desperately wanted.

But I also realized that the pain — both physical and emotional — of this process could also break couples apart. It was right there in front of me, as I witnessed the cumulative strain on people in the waiting room.

What, I wondered, would happen to their embryos if indeed they broke up? A woman on fertility drugs can produce as many as 20 or 30 eggs. Who would get them?

The nurses would smile and tell me not to worry about it, especially since my husband and I were, they said, such a happy couple. Naturally the reporter in me wanted answers. Where exactly did the embryos go? Did they go into one large unpatrolled laboratory where a rogue nurse would sell them elsewhere. And then, in years to come, I'd meet my lookalike in the mall.

Yes, I know, it seems like something out of a Robin Cook medical thriller, and I laughed at how fertile my imagination could be. So did the nurses. Everything, they assured me, was properly monitored and nothing could happen to the embryos without both parents’ consent.

With in vitro fertilization (IVF), doctors usually implant no more than four fertilized eggs to prevent high-multiple births. In Oregon, a divorced couple split on what to do with their six frozen fertilized eggs, and the case ended up in the Oregon Court of Appeals.

Laura Dahl and her former husband, Darrell Angle, had stored their “embryos” with Oregon Health and Science University, where she had undergone IVF. (For the sake of argument, the court called the fertilized eggs “embryos,” although they said that, technically, they would become embryos only once implanted in a woman’s womb.)

Breaking-ups cause heartaches, headaches and, yes, sometimes creative inspiration. In his new album Lucky Old Sun, which will be released tomorrow, country singer Kenny Chesney reflects on the aftereffects of the annulment of his marriage to the actress Renée Zellweger.

Zellweger, clad in a beautiful Carolina Herrera gown, married the crooner with the cowboy hat in a 15-minute ceremony on a beach in St. John in 2005. Four months later the marriage was kaput — one of the quicker break-ups even for Hollywood, although not beating Chris Kattan’s record split after two months.

Zellweger cited fraud of all things as the cause for the annulment. But who knows what that means? Perhaps he cheated her of her dreams for a lifelong marriage.

For a while, both were silent about why they parted ways. Chesney now is not talking, but he is singing.

As he told Newsweek the songs on his album were written in a burst of inspiration. “I got in a plane and went down to the Virgin Islands,” he says. “I was completely by myself. I didn't want to be around anybody. So the next thing you know, it's me and a pen and I sat down and wrote a lot of lines of this song.”

Three songs on the album seem especially intimate, Spirit of a Storm, I’m Alive, and Way Down Here, whose lyrics say he is "where no one will ask, 'cause nobody knows you're not in my life anymore/And no one can tell the saltwater from my tears."

Was he concerned that his ex would be upset by the music about the end of their relationship? “It's the truth. It's my life,” he told Newsweek. “I've been in a lot of states of mind in the last three years. In that way, it's a pretty honest record. I've let myself be more emotionally vulnerable in some of the lyrics. I think that was good therapy."

Here's your pet's pet peeve. Your beloved animals suffer anxiety when you separate or divorce, just as you do. In fact, the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals in London has added divorce to the list of events that can lead to "acral lick dermatitis."

Other causes of ALD – a constant chewing, sucking, and licking of a part of the body – are dogs who are isolated or bored, punished continually, or who have nervous and stressed owners. Sean Wensley, a senior vet at the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, says, “As a result of such licking, the area can become raw and itchy, which in turn leads to further licking or chewing."

Pets mirror our emotions. If your parrot plucks his feathers feverishly, your poodle pouts with downcast eyes, your calico cat meows mournfully, vets translate these things as a form of depression because, folks, they are "furry" upset by the disruption in the house.

And why shouldn’t they be?

As Wensley says, “Cats and dogs, like young children, are sensitive to adult human emotions and, when these become tense or unpredictable, this can cause stress-related heath problems.”

What are more symptoms?

"Dogs that are stressed can show signs of compulsive disorder,” he says, including chasing their own tails. Cats, he says, “can be prone to 'wool sucking' which, as the term suggests, involves sucking or chewing on woolen items such as blankets.”

Parrots sometimes pull out their own feathers after losing a mate — which, in a way, includes a human live-in companion — or experiencing some other type of trauma.

And that’s not all. The hospital’s studies show that when their owners split, pets can develop serious long-term nervous symptoms, including chewing on and biting themselves.

Lawyers don't have the best reputations to begin with, and Gary Karpin isn't helping their cause.

The 57-year-old man posed as an Arizona divorce lawyer since 1996, reports The Arizona Republic. 

Karpin was, in fact, a trained attorney, although he has been disbarred in Vermont and Maine. When he landed in Arizona, he skipped the bar entirely and instead set up shop in divorce law, specializing in mediation - and raking in at least $300,000 from the 24 known cases he filed.

How was he discovered? When a client discovered Karpin was dating his wife, he dug up some interesting dirt on his "lawyer."

Unfortunately, this isn't the only case of dishonesty in divorce (no, we're not talking about your ex). Just last week, we posted "Fraudster Bilks Divorce Group." A North Carolina woman offered a sob story to her divorce support group, which came to her aid with more than $6000. Turns out, it was one big lie.

Karpin faced his own lies in his two-month trial, during which he represented himself; the jury found him guilty on 23 counts of theft and one count of fraud. Karpin is awaiting sentencing and could face more than nine years of jail time.

Photo: The Arizona Republic

The bi-partisan council of the Alaska Legislature accepted unanimously (12 to 0) the conclusions of an investigator: Sarah Palin abused her powers as governor. The investigation said that she, her husband, and members of her staff applied pressure on subordinates to get rid of her sister’s ex-husband, the state trooper Michael Wooten.

This is a violation of the ethics act of the Alaska executive branch, which says that "any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust."

Censure or disciplinary measures will be decided by the state executive branch (headed by Palin), the attorney general (appointed by Palin), or the State Personnel Board, which is conducting its own investigation.

But the lasting punishment Palin could receive will come from public opinion. Pundits have noted that being found to abuse power while running as the vice presidential candidate is a blow to her credibility, especially because so little is known about her governing style, and she has portrayed herself as an ethics reformer.

Lyda Green, the Republican president of the Alaska Senate, said the report would damage the Governor’s reputation. She said: “The problem with power is that people pay attention to it, and it's very easy to get beside yourself and use it in the wrong way.

"And we do have to leave personal business at home.”

(Green, apparently, is no fan of Governor Palin. When Palin was nominated she told The Anchorage Daily News,  "She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president? Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?")

Israel Meir Briksman is not the traditional "Wanted" man. Yet his picture is splayed across his Brooklyn neighborhood with instructions to his fellow community members: An arrest warrant has been issued against the man, and he is to be shunned.

The crime? He will not grant his wife a "get," or a spiritual divorce, says web site haaretz.com. On paper, the Orthodox Jewish community has agreed to publicly shun husbands who refuse their wives a divorce until they come forward. In reality, this is the first enforcement of the declaration.

Says the article:

Briksman's picture was released on the Web site of the rabbinic court, alongside photographs of other men who have refused to give their wives divorces.

Of the men who information was published, one has already come forward and granted his wife a get. But Briksman, who had been in custody battles with his wife of eight years over the couple's children, has yet to resurface.

You may remember a piece we ran last month, "'Get' This: Prenups May Be Required for Australian Jews," which mandated both husband and wife to allow the possibility of a get, in addition to a civil divorce, should the couple split.

Seems modern day realities are invading even the most sacred of traditions, but, we have to say, sometimes for the better.

Briksman's wife believes her spouse in the U.S. but will not return to New York anytime soon and she will remain "aguna," or "chained," the label given to women whose husband's refuse a divorce.