McCartney Divorce Settlement

It looks like the Judge that is presiding over the Heather Mills v. Paul McCartney divorce is about to make a decision and Ms. Mills may be receiving 25-30 million pounds in her divorce decree. It is reported that this amount was what was originally offered by McCartney, but with the offer also came a confidentiality clause. Therefore, if Ms. Mills wishes to not appeal the Judge, it seems that she went through close to two years of fighting and being crucified by the press so that she can publish a book about her marriage to McCartney. It seems crazy to me that you would not settle a case that would give you over $50 million just so you can blab your story to anyone who will listen, but I guess it'll be worth it for Ms. Mills. Hopefully there are no appeals, and everyone can move on with the rest of their lives.

To read more about this story, visit: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article3554657.ece

Importance of Realistic Expectations

The reality of divorce is that no matter whether you choose to settle your divorce without the assistance of a Judge, or whether you take all of your issues before a Judge, you probably won't be 100% happy with the result. Whether you are in a no fault state like Florida, or whether you live in a state that takes adultery or other faults into account when determining alimony and equitable distribution, at the end of the day, everyone is going to be giving something up. Keeping that in mind, you must prepare yourself with realistic expectations when it comes to the financial side of divorce. If you do not have realistic expectations and your divorce attorney does not prepare you for the financial reality of divorce, you will be shocked and ill-prepared when you don't get what you "want" out of your divorce settlement or decree. Being prepared and planning accordingly can help you get you into the financial mindset that you will need once your divorce is finalized.

Accepting a First Offer

When people are going through a divorce, often times there are initial offers on the table with respect to equitable distribution and alimony. I always encourage my clients to take first offers seriously and to not reject them under the false notion that you "should never accept a first offer". You can save yourself a lot of time, money and attorney fees if you realistically look at the offer and decide whether it is in your economic best interest, because many times, after many months of litigation or numerous attempts to mediate the issues in your divorce, the settlement that gets signed is in the neighborhood of what was originally offered. I'm not encouraging people to accept offers which are not in their best interest, I'm simply stating that its not a good idea to reject an offer simply because its the first offer.