

What can we learn from serial celebrity break-ups, billionaire bust-ups, misbehaving spouses, pants-on challenged politicos and the ever-shifting landscape of divorce law? Question is, "What CAN'T we learn"? With latte in hand and clicky finger at the ready, dive in for the best in divorce news, views, gossip, and buzz – assembled below for your reading pleasure.

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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It's no secret that her split from Paul McCartney has been ugly and riddled with money battles, but her interview yesterday shed some light on the woman behind the curtain. It's so easy to be labeled a "psycho emotional" ex-wife, and it's frustrating to see someone in such a high-profile marriage confirm the stereotype.
The obviously emotionally-charged interview slew began on the British morning show "GMTV" where she compared her experience and anguish to that of Princess Diana. From there, she spooled into a visibly angry attack on the media — complete with yelling and crying — and admitted to considering suicide because of the havoc she feels her reputation has gone through. "If I'm dead, she's safe," she said, referring to her three-year-old daughter, Beatrice.
She made a mysterious reference to a "box of evidence" that will go to an undisclosed person should something horrible befall her. Despite the death threats she's received, she claims she's forced to remain in the U.K. to keep Beatrice close to her father.
The public still waits for the details of her train-wreck divorce which she can't discuss extensively thanks to a well-placed gag order.
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Of course, Saturday Night Live has a unique take on every circumstance, and they've spared none with Britney. Divorce can certainly be costly, but sometimes not as much as the cost of fame...

As brief a marriage as it was, Mr. Noa Ojani seems to have much to tell about his time with Ms. Lopez. "This is about my life, coming here from Cuba and falling in love with Jennifer," he says. But according to court documents, Noa's book alleges Lopez had mulitiple affairs, including one with her third and current husband, Marc Anthony ...
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The trend has shifted. More women are leaving men, and more women have become the bread-winners. So more women are finding themselves paying alimony to their ex-husbands. An Axe to Grind, by Jane Heller, explains the evolving role-reversal.