Over the course of the marriage, two people can accumulate a lot of different things, and splitting them up in a way that makes everyone happy when the marriage is at an end is a pretty difficult thing to do. Sure, money and child custody are the two most common things that divorcing couples fight about, but they're certainly not the only things to come up in the settlement negotiations. And even when money is the biggest question, there's the question of how the spouse that's ordered to pay will come up with the amount of money that they need.
Celebrity divorce settlements are often news because of the large amounts of money involved – and sometimes those settlements are unusual enough to be interesting for other reasons. Take a look at the results of some of the strangest celebrity divorce requests and settlements ever to hit the deadlines.
David Hasselhoff and Pamela Bach
Former Knight Rider and Baywatch star David Hasselhoff is well known for being eccentric, so it's perhaps not so surprising that his divorce from actress Pamela Bach contained some interesting twists and turns. By all accounts the divorce was convoluted and messy, with accusations and acrimony on both sides. However, in the end, Hasselhoff came out of the marriage with the thing that he values the most: a nickname.
The divorce settlement specifies that Hasselhoff kept full rights to the nickname, "The Hoff", as well as the phrase, "don't hassel the Hoff". He also got to keep the rights to a potential television series entitled Tales of the Hoff, as well as some baseball paraphernalia and an elephant's foot. It's questionable whether Pamela Bach actually misses any of those things. She got to keep half of any income from his 2006 biography – even if it's not a bestseller, that income will probably be well-worth giving up any claim to being "The Hoff".
Marvin and Anna Gaye
Money was the bone of contention between Motown legend Marvin Gaye and his ex-wife Anna. What made their divorce interesting wasn't what they were fighting over, but how they settled the dispute. In fact, the details of the Gaye divorce were famous, and even became twisted into an urban legend over time. It's a common misconception that Gaye purposely tanked his album Here, My Dear, in order to get out of paying his ex-wife royalties.
The truth of the matter is that, while it's true that Here, My Dear was intended to pay off Gaye's obligations to his ex-wife, he owed the money to her whether the album sold well or not. The arrangement they agreed upon was that he would pay her $307,000 from his advance from the album, and another $293,000 from the royalties after it sold – with the provision that if it didn't earn that much in two years, he would have to pay the $293,000 out of pocket. If anything, Gaye had a financial incentive to be sure that the album would sell. Here, My Dear was certainly intended to cause Anna Gaye some distress – the album was a pointed expression of Gaye's anger toward her – but its lackluster sales were nothing but a coincidence.
Dennis Hopper and Victoria Duffy
Sometimes even death isn't enough to end divorce negotiations. Actor Dennis Hopper and actress Victoria Duffy were in the process of divorcing when Hopper passed away in 2010. Duffy accused Hopper's adult children of instigating the divorce and pressuring Hopper to cut her out of his will.
In 2011, Duffy was still fighting to get her divorce settlement from Hopper's estate. While her demands included the usual things one might expect an estranged wife to seek in a divorce settlement, like child support, family photos, and important documents, her list also included some things that were a little more unusual. It seems that she wanted her kitchen items back, considering that a juicer, a butcher's block, and asparagus tongs were also included in her demands.
The good news is that if you're not a celebrity, your divorce settlement probably won't make the headlines. With a good attorney, you should also be able to walk away with a settlement that's fair and equitable. If you're in need of help settling your divorce, an experienced local divorce attorney can help you get what you deserve. For more information, visit a website like http://www.madisonlf.com.
