Amber Heard and Johnny Depp: Listen to your gut
Amber Heard stated that she had initially claimed for $50,000/month in temporary spousal support not because she wanted the money but because that was “standard operating procedure”. She later said she wanted to focus attention on the issue of domestic abuse, and away from money. Following “standard practice” made it harder for her to do that.
Your lawyer’s job is to advise you of what you may be entitled to at law. Your priorities and goals may differ from the “standard” situation. Get clear about what you want, and be clear with your lawyer.
Donald Trump and Marla Maples: He’s still the father of your child
Maples is the soul of discretion and grace about her controversial ex-husband. “There's been folks that think he's been paying me not to speak. Absolutely not true! He's the father of my child. I do not want to speak negatively about him. But do we agree on everything? Absolutely not. We would still be married if we did.”
This is smart. Dirt has a way of sticking to your fingers when you start flinging it, and worse: it can only harm your children.
Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills: All will be revealed
Mills was awarded $48.6 million in 2008 after a four-year marriage.
"I feel elated," a beaming Mills, 40, told PEOPLE minutes after her hearing. "It was worth the hard work." But as he made his exit, McCartney, 65, would only remark cryptically, "All will be revealed."
And so it was a day later, when, over Mills' objection, the 58-page judgment containing all the divorce details was released to the public, revealing Justice Hugh Bennett's highly critical comments about Mills. "I am driven to the conclusion that much of her evidence, both written and oral, was not just inconsistent and inaccurate but also less than candid," the judge wrote in his ruling. He called many of Mills' financial-support requests—including proposed yearly budgets of more than $400,000 for private flights, $80,000 for wine and $250,000 for clothes—"ridiculous," as well as "unreasonable, indeed exorbitant."
When you go to court instead of settling, the judge’s findings of fact and credibility become part of the public record.