Posted on 08/21/2014 8:09:31 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Did alimony kill Robin Williams?
At least in part it sure did. Paying out over $30 million to ex-wives who were allowed to attach themselves to Williams’ bank account like comatose patients on feeding tubes would be enough to make Gandhi angry and depressed.
While states are finally, gradually catching up to the modern age in terms of alimony (now they call it “maintenance” — as in “high maintenance”) the practice of men paying women because they once were married is not just primitive but, yes, sexist.
Yeah, go ahead, call me anti-feminist, call me whatever you want, but the truth is alimony (which is different from child support and fair distribution of assets acquired during the marriage) doesn’t mean the non-working spouse is entitled to live as high as the Kardashians. It’s that concept that is fundamentally anti-feminist.
No, I’m not talking out of my head. I’m talking as a formerly divorced, unemployed woman who didn’t ask for alimony, just a fair amount of child support for our then-2-year-old daughter, which never happened anyway.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
Pre nup.
Don’t say I do without it.
RE: $30 million over how long a period of time? One year? Ten years?
Not sure.
He was married to the first wife for 10 years, cheated on her with the Nanny, married the Nanny for 20 years and divorced her in 2008. He re-married in 2011.
It was reported that he made over $130 Million but at his death, was worth a “mere” $50 million.
He also said he needed to keep working to pay for his ex-wives...
I don’t know what stupid, crazy system would burden such a person and make him a practical indentured servant to his ex-wives.
ping
A very mixed up guy. And people wonder why he ended up paying alimony?
They will all tell you they love you. :-)
I believe wife #1 divorced Robin when he started boinking the nanny, who became wife #2.
revenge is a dish served very cold
Live and learn. FWIW, there are countries you can retire to that don’t habla US court documents. That assumes you have portable wealth they can’t attach.
Just a hair split but;
P. T. Barnum Never Did Say
“There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute”
http://www.historybuff.com/library/refbarnum.html
Then they go away and leave you and your bank account alone.
Whatever good will I may have harbored for this dude died that day.
I wonder if the community property and alimony laws are why the cohabitation rate for all age ranges has been rising for at least 25 years.
Younger people don’t want to get married to avoid a divorce, and older people don’t want to lose alimony or widow’s benefits.
I didn’t notice his career dwindling.
Like my kindly, sweet grandfather used to say, “If it floats, flies or f*cks, it’s cheaper to rent it”.
Still shouldn’t be a reason to take a great percentage of his money.
Mr. Williams deserves a good chunk of the blame, for hiring bad attorneys and accepting crummy legal advice. Apparently, he was willing to keep ex-wives 1 and 2 attached to his bank account forever, so they kept getting a check every month. I believe he dumped his first wife in 1988 (because she caught him having an affair with the baby sitter, who became wife #2). And I’m sure those monthly checks were sufficient to keep her in a comfortable lifestyle. Plus, he was on the hook for child support to both wives as well.
You’d think someone would have suggested a pre-nup agreement after the first marriage, or trying to impose some sort of time limit on alimony payments. Maybe Williams just wanted to move on and was willing to do whatever it took. Back in the 80s, he probably thought he’d be a movie star forever, with the income to match. But by the time of his second divorce, his career was already on the downhill slope. At that point, with his kids grown and assets to protect, you’d think he would have hired a legal shark and gone to war.
From what I’ve heard, Robin Williams blew through money like s-— through a goose. He had a massive estate in the Napa Valley that has been on the market for years; 600 acres of land (including vineyards) and a huge house. The mortgage and upkeep on that place must have been astounding.
He also freely gave money to friends in trouble. After Christopher Reeve and his wife died, Williams paid most of the bills for their son, despite the fact that his friends were still had significant assets, despite Reeve’s paralyzing injury and his wife’s sudden death from lung cancer.
At the time of his death, Williams was living in a house he inherited from his mother. That alone speaks volumes about his financial position. I’m guessing long-term alimony payments were just one of the financial straws that helped push him over the edge.
A lawyer friend of mine told me “there is no such thing as am amicable divorce. You’re going to war and be prepared to fight for everything you have, including your kids and your assets.” Luckily, I’ve been married to the same woman for more than 30 years, and I’ve never had to follow that advice.
There are rules and precedent in case law regarding pre nups.
The main issue is that there can have been no coercion or duress in getting the other party to sign.
Most lawyers will tell you a properly done pre nup is solid.
Not an issue. I’m very happy having a Beau. Not buying the pig again. *SMIRK* :)
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