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What can we learn from celebrity break-ups, billionaire settlements, straying husbands, downright daunting divorce laws, or scandalous politicians? PLENTY! Meet our contributing writers and professional advisors who are tickled pink to ponder all of the news, views, gossip and buzz that we love to hear!

Some things just don't make sense. In Chile — where divorce was only legalized in 2004 — they apparently have a law that says any assets divided during an amicable divorce are subject to taxation. If you contest the divorce, there is no tax.

So if you resolve things on your own and don't waste the court's time, you pay tax. If you drag a judge into it, you're free and clear. Doesn't it make sense, then, that people will try to contest the divorce just to save some money on taxes?

At the moment, there seems to be a bill trying to do away with the tax, but it makes you think: Who dreamt up this "divorce tax" in the first place? Was it a group of Chilean lawyers that wanted to bump up their court time fees by getting their clients to contest instead of settling out of court? Or was it a Christian group that thought charging people a tax would actually stop people from splitting up? We're not sure, but we'll do more research and let you know.

If the bill to reverse this strange law passes before the end of the year, it will be retroactive, so any divorces finalized this year will be exempt. Yippee!

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We are always amazed how different ethics are from person to person, state to state and country to country. There are things happening in other countries that would completely blow your mind, and yet in those countries they are considered somewhat normal.

In Afghanistan, Mahbakhat is suffering. She is 11 years old. Her parents are dead. And she is getting divorced.

At the age of 9, Mahbakhat was a depressed orphan living with her brother and his wife. She was so depressed that she tried a common method of suicide among Afghan girls and women — she doused herself in oil and lit herself on fire with matches. Her suicide attempt left her badly burned on her arms, face, and chest.

Mahbakhat's sad story does not end here. Her brother — who thinks her suicide attempt was an accident — believed no one else would marry her with her burn scars, and he forced her to marry a 45-year-old man.

In that part of the world, women's rights are pretty much a fairy tale. Single women cannot rent accommodations on their own in Afghanistan, and up until recently, most women were confined to their homes when not accompanied by their guardian or husband. So in Mahbakhat's brother's mind, he was doing the best thing for her by marrying her off, even though the legal age to marry in Afghanistan is 16.

Though her new husband promised he would not have sex with her until she was a few years older, he instead sexually assaulted her several times daily. Here in America, we would lock up this pedophile, throw away the key and hope the notorious prison justice system worked its magic. But in Afghanistan, he has all the rights. His wife is expected to take any abuse, be obedient and not disgrace the family name.

Mahbakhat understandably ran to one of the only women's shelters in the country. She is currently living at the shelter and going through the process of divorce. After the divorce is finalized, she will return to her brother's home.

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