Well, the critics have been speculating about their marrriage for some time and now the speculation seems to have been on the ball; Madonna and Guy Ritchie have announced their intention to divorce, so now the fun really begins as top divorce lawyers for each will manoevre and argue over the couples combined fortune - estimated at £300 million!

The case will be an interesting twist on the norm of a woman seeking a large sum of money from her wealthy husband with Guy instead probably seeking a large slice of the couples fortune. After all - I am sure the argument will go - he had to put his own career on the back-burner to support Madge’s demanding career and give emotional support to their family.

Guy is one of a growing number of men in the position of benefiting from divorce because of being married to a very successful woman. The law doesn’t discriminate bewteen men and women any longer, just the wealthy and the not!

Incredibly it seems tht Madonna didn’t get Guy to enter into a prenup and so all is open to argument. Sorry Madge, big mistake! In legal circles it is being speculated that if properly handled the divorce should result in Guy receiving the largest payout in British court history, dwarfing the miserable £24 million paid to my old friend and yours, Heather Mills McCartney.

There really is no reason why this should have happened. If Madonna had taken the advice I am sure she was given then a prenup would have been in place and the divorce spoils would be minimised. Madonna has been implicated by Axel Rodriguez’s wife as being responsible for their marriage break-down, (something Madonna has denied); but at least the New York Yankee star had a prenup! Maybe instead of him listening to her, she should have been listening to him!

If you think that Madonna’s wealth is such she won’t miss the occasional £50 or £100 million, just look at what they are reported to own, just real property, not cars or anything else, just real property, all of which is now up for argument;

Madonna is believed to own the couple’s London home, a £7m family townhouse in Marylebone, and a 10-bedroom, £6m property next door as well as two Manhattan apartments overlooking New York’s Central Park worth £2m each.

Guy is thought to own their estate, Ashcombe House, in Wiltshire which has large grounds and is reportedly worth £10m.

It is thought that the couple own the following properties jointly;
Two mews cottages in London worth £2m each (used to house their London staff).
The £2.5m Punchbowl Pub on Farm St in Mayfair, apparently Madonna and Ritchie own it with their friends.
A £3.6m building in London’s West End -the headquarters of the Kabbalah sect;
A five-storey, £1.6m house in Regents Park.
A two-storey mansion in Beverly Hills, California worth £8m.

Divorce planning doesn’t just happen. You have to make it happen, especially if you are “A material girl!”

Doctor Ditchem
International Divorce Strategist
“Protecting wealth against Divorce!”

I don’t want to rake over old ground as my past blog coverage of the McCartney divorce has been somewhat controversial, but I couldn’t resist commenting on a press report carried by the Press Association that Heather Mills says she has at last found peace following her divorce from Sir Paul McCartney.

According to the report she is spending a lot of time in the States and indeed says she has donated £550,000 of “vegan” food to one of the poorest neighbourhoods in New York; I just hope they didn’t want meat!

I wish Heather Mills well; really I do! she played the “game” the way the legal system has designed it to be played (taking the wealthy spouse for all she could!) and you can’t blame her for that even if it was a bit distasteful.

I suppose my parting comment would be, if it takes £24.3 million before she could find peace, what hope for the rest of us?

I risk annoying my readers again, but if ever there were - in my opinion - a case that illustrated the need for divorce planning and strategies, I can’t think of it! It could have been a pre-nup, it could have been the use of a family Trust or an off-shore structure but £24.3 million!!! What a wasted opportunity Paul, what a wasted opportunity!

Doctor Ditchem
International Divorce Strategist
“Protecting wealth against divorce!”

Let us consider the ‘financial examination’ of business assets that occurs when divorce happens.

Most non-business peoples’ circumstances and assets are easily identified and valued. Usually easily dealt with in the divorce process. Even in these simple circumstances it may be possible to do various things to minimise the risks to a particular party to the divorce but these cases are by their nature (normally) simple, though that is not to take away from the pain that can be involved.

In my experience the complications arise where one of the Parties is a business person. Then all sorts of other issues arise. These are too numerous to mention here but the normal approach is for one Party - normally the non-business person - to engage a ‘financial expert’, usually an accountant, to examine the finances of the Parties and of the business and “guide” the court by their ‘expert’ evidence and analysis. In some places, such as Canada there are even particular recognised specialists who do this sort of work called “Financial Divorce Specialists” or “Certified Divorce Financial Analysts”. Indeed sometimes the Parties can agree to utilising the services of one as an “independent expert” on behalf of them both to “smooth the process” for the lawyers to be able to reach an out of court settlement that is “fair” to both parties.

Here I ‘nail my colours’ to the mast! This is a very dangerous process for any business person! You MUST NOT abrogate your responsibility to protect yourself and your business during this process or you will have no one to blame but yourself when a grey suited accountant tells lawyers and court their opinion of what is fair and ‘do-able’ as a settlement for you and your business, and believe me, it will NOT be the same as you think!

Over my years I have come across many so-called “experts”, some well meaning and some downright unscrupulous. No matter how well meaning they are, they NEVER have the same perspective as the business owner! Their view is ALWAYS based on the figures on paper. In the more unscrupulous cases these figures are ‘massaged’ to over-estimate the value of a business and it’s profilts, to under-estimate liabilities and risks, to over-estimate the living expenses of one of the Parties - their instructing client of course - and even to forget about such things as bad debt or Tax liabilities! True!

Even in the well meaning cases, where I have no doubt the “expert” was trying to be fair to both Parties, there was an inherent weakness; - they were trying to be fair to both Parties - NOT trying to be accurate in their calculation of the true financial position and risk to a business!

No, you must always engage your own expert to fight your corner! Divorce is branded as “non-fault” but our whole court system, of which the family courts are a part, is adversarial and you need your own ‘gladatorial’ team.

Of course the point I would make again is that “The one who best plans for divorce will have the best divorce!”
I have seen cases where a spouse copied correspondence and financial statements for up to three years before a divorce was initiated! If you are reading this blog or looking at my site, what makes you think your partner isn’t having the same thought as you about the future of your relationship?

If you plan your divorce and strategise how to safe guard your assets and wealth BEFORE divorce is mentioned, believe me, you will have a better divorce than if you do not! You owe it to your business, your staff, your creditors, your suppliers and above all else you owe it to yourself to protect your assets, wealth and business by Planning and Strategising Before Divorce is mentioned!

Doctor Ditchem
International Divorce Planner and Strategist
“Protecting wealth against Divorce!”

According to reports a Cambodian couple decided to avoid the country’s notoriously corrupt and expensive court system in their divorce by dividing their house, literally, in two; thats right, down the middle!

A local newspaper carried pictures of a precariously pitched half of the “stilted” former home of the couple, Meuon Rima and his former wife Nhang. Mr. Rima has apparently now driven his half of the house elsewhere. The paper pointed out that Mr. Rima did not apparently feel the need to do the same with the couples two children! (Both of these he left with his former wife - much to their relief I am sure!) Here is link for those of you who do not beleive me; http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/235071,cambodian-husband-takes-half-the-house-in-divorce–literally.html

Oh how much simpler life would be for us in the West if we had homes that you could do that with!

I know, I know. It is a trivial story and I chose it for its amusement, but then again it also illustrates graphically the pain and trauma the world over caused by divorce and it’s financial aftermath. Sometimes - if you are like me - you may wish for a simpler life; one lived at a slower pace; one with fewer stresses. The truth is that wherever people are in the world and no matter what their life-style, having your hard earner assets wrenched from your fingers is traumatic the moreso when it follows on theloss of the closest and most intimate of relationships. i think the technical term is, “It sucks!”

Well, I may niot be able to stop all the pain but i do aim to help stop the monetary lipo-suction to a great degree at any rate.

Of course perhaps you are so wealthy that even a few million doesn’t make any difference to you, though if the truth be known the wealthy clients I act for treat the protection of their wealth as if it were their blood and it was being sucked by Dracula!

Anyway, the lie is laid bare; even if you lived in some - literal - backwater where your house stood on stilts, when the chips are down you still wouldn’t want to lose it!

Doctor Ditchem
International Divorce Planner and Strategist
“Protecting wealth against Divorce!”
www.doctorditchem.com

Poor old Ronnie Wood! Or he will be a lot poorer if he has to go through a divorce!

The Stones guitarist and his wife ‘Jo’ have seperated and Ronnie has apparently been “practicing guitar” with a 20 year old russian girl. The press was full of pictures of him and the young woman last week as they dined at a top London restaurant. According to friends it is a serious relationship and the girl, Ekaterina Ivanova (surely Austin Powers must be close by!) is supporting him through rehab. I know the restaurant and believe me, if Ronnie was paying for the meal then it must be a serious relationship!

I have no problem with whatever Ronnie chooses to do in the privacy of his own seperation! My only comment is that his wife Jo, is his executive assistant, his personal management assistant, a joint director of his music company “Rockyarch” and is company secretary for his painting business “Scream Art”. Not surprisingly it is being speculated that Jo could be awarded 20 per cent of his earnings – including future payments - on top of a half share of his capital.

Maybe the “Rock’n'Roll” life-style has befuddled his brain, but I would have thought that before doing his own version of “men behaving badly” Ronnie should have undertaken some serious divorce planning including getting his wife out of his business affairs before he starts his own personal affairs!

I have often said that confidentiality is the foundation of all asset protection planning in divorce and seperation and having ignored that truth Ronnie can expect no mercy. I don’t expect him to call me, but if he does, well Ronnie, there is just so much that you can do!

Doctor Ditchem - International Divorce Planner and Strategist
“Protecting wealth against Divorce!”
www.doctorditchem.com

I have to hand it to movie star Alec Baldwin; after the ‘public mugging’ he sustained over the release of ‘that tape recording’ of the message he left for his daughter, (you remember the one; he called her a “rude, thoughless little pig.”) I never expected him to show his face in Beverley Hills again . Was I wrong or what?

He has now launched an auto-biographical account of his divorce from Kim Bassinger telling all the sordid details of their very accrimonious divorce and fall out. It is called “A promise to ourselves” and I suspect will make for a very good read for anyone who takes their Holywood voyeurism seriously.

Of course there was immediate condemnation of the man following his message to his daughter being published; but on closer inspection, though still not excusable, the facts do allow a slightly more sympathetic picture to emerge. For instance the phone call was one of a string of attempts Baldwin had made over a number of days to have his ‘court sanctioned’ weekly phone call to his daughter, and on each of the days he had tried to contact her, her phone was switched off. It was after a number of such attempts were made that he left the frustrated message.

Of course in the aftermath of the message being released to the public all the criticism was of Baldwin for the way he spoke in the message to his daughter, but the question I am more intrigued by is who released the tape and for what purpose? Well there are only three possibilities I suspect; Baldwin, unlikely; his daughter Ireland - at 11 years old even if she is truly precocious I suspect such Machiavellian tactics still beyond her. The thrid possibility of course is Kim. Hmmmmm?

Baldwin himself asked at his book launch, “What was gained by that?” I suspect very little save a degree of grim satisfaction at causing pain to someone once loved and now hated. Scratch the surface and we are not really rational beings at all, least of all when love has gone.

Doctor Ditchem - International Divorce Planner and Strategist;
“Protecting wealth from Divorce!”
www.doctorditchem.com

I read online that certain court districts in the UK are noting that the divorce rate appears to be slowing down in time to the financial crisis or “credit crunch.” I can’t say I am that surprised. The biggest problem with financial division following relationship break-down is the mistaken notion that couples can seperate and still manage to live a similar standard of life as they did when together.

The truth is ,apart from the case of the wealthy, for most couples there is not enough money to enable this to happen. Yet the courts make awards to try and enable the poorer of the two to contuinue to live in the manner to which they have become accustomed.

Only injustice and debt result. That is why the wealthy person in a relationship needs to take precautions, to plan their divorce and strategies BEFORE the divorce happens or they will become the only rabbit worth “skinning”.

Doctor ditchem - “Protecting wealth against divorce!” www.doctorditchem.com