Lemondrop.com has an article about a couple who had been living together in Germany and decided to get married.  Then they got into an argument almost immediately after the wedding.  It escalated into a big fight in which the groom began chasing the bride around with a knife trying to cut her hair.  She called the police and they gave her a restraining order.  They decided to get an annulment on the same day.  The groom spent what was to have been his wedding night in a homeless shelter.

The Learning Channel is a cable television network in Silver Spring, Maryland, established in 1980 with an educational mission.

Watching Jon and Kate Gosselin is giving us all an education in the difficulties of marriage.  The reality tv show has become a sensation in its fifth season as the husband and wife raising eight children are suddenly becoming unhappily married before our eyes.  There are rumors of infidelity on the part of both spouses.

Ratings are going through the roof as we all watch the marriage disassemble like a car wreck you can’t take your eyes off of.

“Couples squabble. Dealing with eight kids is an overwhelming task,” says Laurie Goldberg of TLC.  “The show will do well as it remains authentic and relatable.”

The couple is under contract for 39 more episodes, so even if their marriage breaks down, we might get to watch them proceed through a divorce.

John Thyden was quoted in an article on Marriage and Money in Good Housekeeping:

“Financial issues are the primary reason for 90 percent of divorce cases I handle,” says John Thyden, a prominent Washington, D.C., divorce attorney. “But it isn’t necessarily the amount of money a couple has that tends to trip them up. It’s the differences in their spending habits and especially their lack of communication.”

And Mary Beth Long, who writes the VA Family Law Blog, had these mellifluous words to say about us:

“Keeping it short, succinct and entertaining. The gent who writes the Maryland Divorce Legal Crier has a neat style. It is like a New Yorker cartoon morphed into a family law blog: quirky, entertaining and thought-provoking but, best of all, brief.  He may quote lyrics from a country song, give marriage preservation tips or explain the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic fraud. All is a couple hundred words. Bravo!”

The judge has be certain of the proof before a divorce can be granted in Maryland.  In fact the law requires that the testimony of the plaintiff be corroborated by other evidence.

Section 7-101 of the Family Law Article states: “A court may not enter a decree of divorce on the uncorroborated testimony of the party who is seeking the divorce.”

That’s why we ask you to bring a copy of your marriage certificate and a witness to your uncontested divorce hearing.

The marriage certificate is corroborating evidence of your marriage.  If you don’t have a copy, you can also corroborate your marriage with the testimony of a witness who was present at the wedding.

The witness can corroborate residency, custody, the date of separation and that the separation was voluntary on the part of both parties for the year prior to filing the complaint, the usual grounds for uncontested divorce in Maryland.

Voluntary separation can also be corroborated by a Separation Agreement if (1) it states that the spouses voluntarily agreed to separate, and (2) it is executed under oath (i.e., notarized) before the divorce complaint is filed.  Section 8-104 of the Family Law Article.

Police have arrested a 26 year old woman and her parents in India for running a divorce scam, according to BBC News.

She is accused of tricking nine rich businessmen into marrying her, then filing for divorce a few weeks later and demanding large sums of money.

One of the men complained to the police saying that the woman and her parents were harassing him for a dowry and threatened to file lawsuits if he did not pay up.

The woman’s lawyer denies the charges and says she has only been married once.

I knew I should have paid more attention in math class.

Oxford Professor, James Murray, claims he has developed a mathematical model to predict divorce, according to an AFP article.

Murray and his team studied 700 new marriages for a twelve year period.  They filmed the couples discussing issues like sex or money for fifteen minutes.  Then they gave grades for each statement.  Humor and affection got positive scores.  Anger or defensiveness got negative scores.

The scores were used to predict the likelihood of divorce.  The couples were then contacted every two years to see if they were still together or not.   The results?  Murray’s formula was correct 94% of the time.

CHAPTER THREE – TAKE A SECOND

Here’s a small concept with a big payoff to make your life and your marriage go smoother.  If you see a task that only takes a second, take a second and do it!

It only takes a second to make coffee in the morning for your spouse.

It only takes a second to set the table.

It only takes a second to pick up clothes, shoes and toys.

It only takes a second to take out the trash, empty the dishwasher or move clothes to the dryer.

It only takes a second to call your spouse and say I love you.

Feel free to add to the list in the Comments Section.

Chapter One – It Takes So Little to Do So Much

Chapter Two – Saying Hello

Linda Wolfe of Indiana, born Linda Lou Taylor 68 years ago, holds the Guinness world record for being the most married woman in history.  She’s said “I do” 23 times, according to Matt Bartosik writing for nbcchicago.com.

Linda’s first husband was George Scott in 1957, when she was 16 and he was 31. This was her longest marriage which lasted seven years.

Her shortest marriage was for 36 hours to Fred Chadwick.

In 1996, as part of a publicity stunt, Linda married Glynn “Scotty” Wolfe in Arizona.  Scotty was the most married man in the world.  Linda was wife number 29 for him.  But Scotty died the next year.

“I would get married again,” Linda told The Indianapolis Star.

There is no good way to broach the subject of divorce with your spouse, but technology keeps bringing us new ways to do it.

According to the Daily News, Neil Brady of England, married to Emma Brady for 12 years, updated his status on Facebook.

“Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady,” it read.

The problem is that Emma says she had no idea her marriage was in trouble until a friend, who saw the post, called her at work to see if she was all right.  Neil insists, however, that he had discussed separation with Emma several times before updating his status.

Mattel says the perfect couple is breaking up, according to an article by Samantha  Critchell at RedOrbit.com.  Russell Arons, vice president of marketing at Mattel, speaking as Barbie and Ken’s “business manager”, said the couple “feel it’s time to spend some quality time – apart.”

“Like other celebrity couples, their Hollywood romance has come to an end,” said Arons.  But the couple “will remain friends.”

The separation, after 43 years together, may be due to Ken’s reluctance to getting married.   And Barbie, who is 50 now, still has all those bridal clothes.