Estranged lovers go for the millions when their marriage hits the rocks

Divorce is turning out to be a highly expensive affair – far more expensive than the nuptials – as go-getter spouses of the rich and famous dig in for the kill when the marriage falls apart. It leaves both heartbroken but one much the poorer.

As couples sign their divorce documents, one of them is also signing a cheque and relinquishing an enormous portion of their wealth.

Here in Kenya, the proposed constitution might make it better for women seeking property from their husbands during or after divorce.

According to Ms Anne Njogu of the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (Creaw), the current constitution gives with one hand in the Bill of Rights but takes back with the other because the same cannot be applied in matters of personal law, where marriage and divorce fall.

“The current constitution does not make a proviso on matrimonial property and is silent on what happens in the event of divorce. It leaves you in the hands of subsidiary laws. Your right as a woman is not guaranteed and you have to go around looking at precedents and the subsidiary law,” said Ms Njogu.

The proposed constitution, in Article 45, gives partners equal rights “at the time of the marriage, during the marriage and at the dissolution of the marriage”.

Further, in Article 68, the proposed constitution provides that Parliament shall enact legislation to “regulate the recognition and protection of matrimonial property and in particular the matrimonial home during and on the termination of marriage.”

Greed principle

Most wealthy spouses follow the greed principle: the more stuff you have, the more there is to fight over.

From business magnate Ron Burkle, whose bitter 2003 divorce has just been unsealed, to Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney, who has been trading daily insults with ex-model Heather Mills, the rich almost never split amicably.

And money is usually at the centre of the acrimony. Wealth, as the saying goes, is a magnifier, especially in divorce.

In Mombasa, a tycoon is locked in a legal tussle with his ex-wife over property.

Mr Mohamed Bakhresa told a Mombasa court last week that he had an oral transaction under the Indian law of Benami with his ex-wife Nasra Abdulwahab to hold property in trust for him.

Among the assets Mr Bakhresa says he bought during his four-year marriage with Ms Abdulwahab, and which he wants returned to him, are vehicles, land, residential flats and the two luxury motorboats, MV Dar and MV Casaurina and cash to the tune of Sh183 million.

Under the law of Benami, a man may buy property in the name of his wife and vice versa but he may take it back when he wants.

Mr Bakhresa said the oral Benami was made in Nyali, Mombasa, where he used to live with Ms Abdulwahab before April or May in 2002.

He told Justice Festus Azangalala there were no witnesses to the oral Benami but all the property in his statement of claim was bought by his ex-wife.

“They were registered in her name,” Mr Bakhresa said, but added she held the properties in trust for him.

But Mr Bakhresa, while being cross-examined by Ms Abdulwahab’s lawyer Japheth Asige, admitted that he is not an Indian, and neither is his ex-wife.

Taken to court

He said he was informed of the practice of Benami after consulting his lawyer in Uganda in July 2006 before the matter was taken to court.

He said he had not been informed by his lawyer that the practice of Benami had been outlawed in India in 1988. Earlier, Mr Bakhresa had maintained that his ex-wife opened four bank accounts in trust and on his behalf.

He told Justice Azangalala the accounts were opened in Barclays Bank, Southern Credit and Imperial Bank.

He said the account at Imperial Bank was under his name but could also be operated by his wife. Ms Abdulwahab had opened the account on August 15, 2008 with an initial deposit of Sh500,000.

The case continues.

Golf icon Tiger Woods and his wife Elin Nordegren are probably the latest high profile couple to grapple with the issue that preoccupies the fabulously wealthy who can no longer live as husband and wife, with the swelling rumours that they are headed for divorce.

Sex scandal

The sex scandal that rocked the sports world – when no less than 12 mistresses crawled out of the woodwork – is rumoured to cost the top golfer up to $600 million (Sh47.4 billion).

According to the Huffington Post, the Swedish ex-model could receive between $500 million and $600 million from her husband if a divorce is reached.

A few weeks ago, odds makers placed the over/under of a possible divorce settlement at $300 million (Sh23.7 billion), with the “under” slightly favoured.

Since then, however, more reports have claimed that a divorce is likely. The web site quoted an unnamed source that a divorce is “100% happening,” and Nordegren is reportedly interested in moving back to her native Sweden, where she is vacationing with her two children.

“What would a woman who was a nanny want all those millions of dollars for? She just got spoilt living with a rich man,” protested a middle-aged middle-class Nairobi woman this week.

Fast lane

She just doesn’t get it. Why would Nordegren want anything from Mr Woods? After all, she has been living life on the fast lane and her mother even moved in with them in their opulent Florida home before the legend’s world came tumbling down in November last year.

Woods married Nordegren in Barbados in 2004 in a lavish ceremony. Nordegren first became a public figure in 2002 when she began dating the golfer.

A blonde, blue-eyed Swede and part-time model, Nordegren was working as a nanny for Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik when she met Woods.

Parnevik introduced the two at the 2001 British Open. Their romance became more widely known during the Masters golf tournament in April of 2002, and they got engaged in November of 2003.

If the divorce goes through and Woods forks out $500 million, he will have joined and topped a short list of the most expensive divorces in the world.

He will join legend Lionel Richie who, when his marriage to Diane Richie went bust, he had to part with $20 million (Sh1.58 billion) as settlement. Sir McCartney paid $60 million (Sh4.74 billion) to Heather Mills when they went their separate ways.

The most expensive divorce the world over involved basketball’s biggest name, Michael Jordan. According to Forbes, the legend parted with more than $150 million (Sh11.58 billion).

The basketball star had married Juanita Vanoy, a Chicago bank officer, in 1989. He had already signed an eight-year, $25 million contract with the Chicago Bulls.

He was also earning another $30 million a year from Nike and other endorsement deals. Vanoy filed for divorce in 2007. In the course of the marriage, Jordan earned more than $350 million.

Another yet to be concluded divorce settlement belongs to the Italian prime minister. According to the Mirror, the wife of the sleaze-hit Silvio Berlusconi is demanding a staggering £39 million (Sh 4.4 billion) a year divorce settlement.

Veronica Lario, 53, left the Berlusconi after he went to the 18th birthday party of model Noemi Letizia. The former topless actress said she was fed up with a man who “associates with minors”.

Berlusconi, 73, who is said to be worth £5.6 billion (Sh636 billion), has offered her a “more reasonable” £2 million (227 million) a year.

Due to such expensive eventualities, men and women find hideous ways of hiding their property from their spouses if only to keep it in the event of a divorce.

There are numerous web sites that offer advice on how to protect wealth in the event of a divorce.

One book, Asset Protection from Divorce, is offered for sale on the Internet, secretly. Asset Protection from Divorce has to be one of the most secretive divorce resources ever made available (this is certainly not sold in bookstores).

The book is, cover-to-cover, nothing but sneaky tactics used by spouses to effectively hide and protect property and other assets prior to, and during, divorce.

“This book reveals those actions taken by spouses who wish to protect their financial future and avoid an unfair property division award,” the Internet advertisement says.

“Hiding property to avoid losing it in a divorce is certainly against the law and not recommended by any divorce lawyer or judge, which is why we hope this resource will end up in the hands of those who need to put a stop to it, and get the marital assets they really deserve. I guess you can say we are trying to get the ‘financial war plans for divorce’ to the other side, to ensure justice is being served.”

Divorce cases always bring out the detailed secrets of what wealthy couples own. Some go to great lengths to avoid the court cases where their wealth would be laid bare.

No attorneys

According to www. marketwatch.com, billionaire couple Tim and Edra Blixseth made headlines in 2007 because they divorced without controversy. No attorneys. No accountants. No judges.

According to the Wall Street Journal, all Tim and Edra, who spent 25 years building a $2 billion life together, did was meet in a hotel for two hours.

“When they decided to divorce, they spent a single afternoon in the Beverly Hills Hotel dividing it all up. With just two notebooks and a bottle of wine, the Blixseths – California real-estate tycoons – finished the job in a matter of hours,” reported the Wall Street Journal.

She kept their 420-acre estate, he got the house in Mexico. He kept his land businesses, she kept the dogs. They each got a Rolls Royce, and they shared their three private jets.

“We have always tried to live our lives with dignity and respect,” Tim said. “We wanted to do the same in divorce.”

Their peaceful parting marked a triumph of hope over history, and reason over money.