What's in a name?

So, you decide to divorce...  What name are you going to be known by?

For women divorcing, you can either go back to your maiden name or keep your married name which you might want to do because (a) it's the same as your children (b) you use it for business (c) you prefer it to your maiden name and (d) it's prestigious and gets you a good table in restaurants...

But what do you do if you think your name is REALLY important?  You demand it as part of the divorce settlement!

When David Hasselhoff divorced his wife, Pamela Bach, he negotiated the exclusive use of the moniker 'The Hoff' and also the slogan 'Don't Hassle The Hoff'.

Let's just hope he has a bumper sticker of that on his car...

It wasn't me, guv....

An investment banker who claims an imposter stood in for him at his own wedding has fail din his attempt to avoid a big money divorce suit.

The London investment banker told a judge his wife marriage another man 'of the same name' while he himself was relaxing at home some 6 hours away.

However, the Judge granted the wife a decree nisi last year after describing her husband as an 'unreliable' witness and ruling that 'there was a valid marriage between the couple'.

Our non-husband had pointed to a mysterious thumb-print on his marriage certificate - and an absence of wedding photos - to prove he was still a bachelor.

But his complaints were thrown out by the judge, who said he had 'no prospect' of blocking his wife's divorce petition.

The banker met his wife on an Indian matrimonial website in 2003, they became engaged just three days later and a wedding was fixed for the following month.  The fiancee's family arranged a short marriage ceremony in advance of the full festivities, in order to speed along her French visa application prior to the couple's move to Europe.  Our banker said he wasn't present at the first ceremony, even though the groom's name on the wedding certificate matched his own.  He also said he didn't notice the discrepancies until a year after the relationship had fallen down.

After the hearing, the wife was understandably said to be 'very happy' at the outcome.

And the moral of this story?  Take LOTS of photos, just in case...

Can we fix it? Probably not...

Despite having THREE pre-nups in place, Bob The Builder’s daughter Victoria Luckwell has been ordered by a judge to give her ex-husband a home and pay off his large debts.

It is stated that Limata, the ex-husband, had gone back on three pre-marital agreements that he would not make claims against family assets. But the judge ruled that proper provision must be made for him – despite the agreements – to avoid the divorce having a damaging impact on the couple's three children.

He said the children could find themselves living with their 37-year-old mother 'in relative luxury' and then staying with their father, who was in debt and lacked assets, 'in relative penury'.

The judge said: "If all the facts were the same but the genders reversed, it is inconceivable that the agreements would outweigh making a substantial award to the wife, even if the children were primarily living with the husband and only intermittently staying with her."

While Victoria was understandably upset, the solicitor for Limata said that he had made 'financial contributions himself during the marriage' and that 'he sought and was given sufficient funds to meet his real financial needs, including a home in which to live.'  She added:  'Marriage brings with it important legal and moral obligations to care for the other spouse in a time of need, including if a marriage breaks down.'

You can see the original version of this article in the Guardian here