This morning, CNN reports a $154 Million Dollar judgment for wife in a Hong Kong divorce case, after an 8 year marriage.
All I could think about was the enormous legal fees that must have been generated in the case. And, that it was probably fair.
The dollar amount of divorce awards, in the rare cases that are litigated to a conclusion, really can’t be judged in a vacuum.
While it might seem like an obscene amount of money (and possibly worth 8 years of being married!!), most often divorce awards reflect an equitable distribution of assets. Whether the assets are huge or not doesn’t really matter.
The calculus, while not entire scientific, usually reflects the assets, lifestyle and projected lifestyle of the litigants.
In mediation, we look at money differently. We do current and prospective budgets, we figure out what each party needs to live, how much money they are likely to need to spend on their children and we figure out a tailored financial plan that makes sense for the family or couple.
The dollar amounts wouldn’t change that process for us.
Except that…it is hard not to take a moment and contemplate what one might do with a check that big.
Let’s hope she’s a charitable person…
mediatetrix 