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10 Bizarre Divorce Settlments

Posted by on in Divorce
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Divorce can be a highly emotional process and people going through a divorce do not always act rationally. This may help to explain some of the interesting settlements between former spouses addressed below. Forget child custody, what happens when a couple has shared possession of a goat? Have a look at 10 examples of offbeat divorce settlements.

1. Now That's a Breakup Record

At the time of Marvin Gaye’s split from then wife Anna Gordy, he was living with a woman named Janice. With all of the issues between Marvin and Anna, their divorce dragged on for 2 years. Anna was asking for a million dollars for back child-support and alimony. But Marvin's lifestyle had left him in financial ruins and in trouble with the IRS. His attorney suggested a resolution and in 1978, their dispute came to an end when the judge ordered Marvin to make an album for the sole purpose of paying his ex-wife. Here, My Dear is that album. (CBS News)

2. Don't Hassle His Attorney, Either

Life certainly wasn’t a beach for Baywatch star David Hasselhoff during his 2008 divorce. Pamela Bach, his wife of 16 years, walked away with $25,000 a month. But, bizarrely, as part of the settlement, he kept ownership of the nickname “The Hoff”. (E! News)

3. Let Us Now Divide Any Shared Organs

Back in 2001, the wife of New York doctor Richard Batista needed a kidney transplant. Dr. Richard Batista proved to be a match to his wife, Dawnell, so he duly offered up one of his own kidneys. Almost eight years later, Dr. Batista wants his kidney back.

According to Richard Batista, Dawnell Batista began having an affair a couple of years after recovering from the kidney transplant procedure. In 2005, Dawnell Batista filed for divorce from Richard Batista.

Nearly four years later, the parties to the divorce still appear to be at an impasse. Dr. Richard Batista is also claiming that he is being prevented from seeing his children. And so, possibly as a way to get his estranged wife's attention, Richard Batista is demanding the kidney back. Since losing the kidney would likely kill Dawnell Batista, Richard Batista is willing to compromise and settle for one and a half million dollars in compensation for the kidney. (Wikipedia)

4. If Only Divorce Lawyers Had Their Own Nobel

Some ex-wives might have begrudged a former spouse his moment in the sun, but Rita C. Lucas couldn't have been happier when Robert E. Lucas Jr. won the Nobel Prize for economics in 1995.

No wonder. Thanks to her prescient insertion of a wee clause into their divorce settlement nearly seven years ago, she stood to get half of the $1-million purse.

It seems that when Robert Lucas, 58, an economics professor at the University of Chicago, was formulating his pioneering theory of "rational expectations" and being touted as an eventual shoo-in for the prestigious award, his wife was developing some great expectations of her own.

So she asked her lawyer to draw up Paragraph 6 in a property settlement dated Jan. 23, 1989: "Wife shall receive 50% of any Nobel Prize. . . ."

Talk about timing. The divorce settlement was due to expire on Oct. 31. If the professor had been honored next year, for example, Rita Lucas, 55, might have been out of luck.

Lucas could at least take comfort in knowing he was in good company. All of Albert Einstein's prize money from his 1921 win in physics went to his ex-wife, Mileva Maric. (Wikipedia)

5. At Least This Is Equitable

According to the LA Times in 2008, “a couple in rural Cambodia has terminated their 18-year marriage with a divorce settlement that entailed sawing in two the wooden house they once shared, villagers said.”

Cambodian couple Moeun Sarim and Vat Navy had been married for 18 years when they decided to part ways 2008. Husband Moeun accused his wife of infidelity. While his wife's half of the marital home remained standing, he deconstructed his own portion and carried the building supplies back to his parents' home. (LA Times)

6. Man Really Gets His Wife's Goat

An Australian man was awarded his ex-wife's pet goat as part of a divorce settlement, according to The Daily Telegraph. Steve Killeen can be seen taking his goat and his friend's pet goat for daily walks through the streets of Sydney. Killeen said the couple got the goat on the Internet about a year ago when his then wife was searching for a hairless cat. "She saw pictures of baby goats and that was it," Killeen said. "We checked with council, and four weeks later we got a goat." Killeen's wife took the family dog with her after the divorce, but Killeen has found a new best friend. (Daily Telegraph)

7. Better than Hotel Soaps

When hotelier Conrad Hilton married the younger Hungarian actress and beauty queen Zsa Zsa Gabor in 1942, the union raised some eyebrows. Eventually, Gabor got tired of Hilton and began sleeping with her stepson, Nicky. Hilton and Gabor ended up divorcing in 1947, and she picked up $275,000 in the process. Gabor later joked, "Conrad Hilton was very generous in the divorce settlement. He gave me 5,000 Gideon Bibles." (Mental Floss)

8. Peter Sellers' Timing Just a Little Off

In 1980, Peter Sellers had reached a final divorce settlement with his fourth wife that would have deprived her of any claim on his estate — but he died before the document became binding, according to legal papers that have come to light.

The settlement, which was never made public, meant that Lynne Frederick was expecting to walk away from the three-year marriage to one of the world’s best-loved comic actors with £375,000 in a one-off payment and ownership of their Los Angeles home.

However, Sellers died at 54 on July 24, 1980, before the divorce became final and Ms. Frederick was able to claim his entire £4.5 million estate. His three children, from previous marriages, were left £750 each. (Wikipedia)

9. Writer Keeps His Ex Close

Prolific Belgian author Georges Simenon requested an odd stipulation in his 1949 divorce from his wife Tigy. Simenon's ex got a large alimony, one she later said was comparable to a top executive's salary during the 1950s, but she had to live no more than six miles away from Simenon so he could always see his children. (Mental Floss)

10. Charles and Diana's Divorce Is a Royal Pain

When Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorced in 1996, there were all sorts of odd assets to divvy up. For starters, there was the issue of titles. Diana lost the right to be called "Her Royal Highness," a move that peerage experts said was unprecedented. She did, however, retain the right to live in Kensington Palace, her jewelry, and the right to entertain at St. James's Palace with the Queen's permission. While Diana also picked up a financial settlement of $22.5 million, she lost a variety of honorary military titles as well. (Mental Floss)                                                                                                                                  

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