Divorce

Sometimes the fear of the unknown can keep a woman in a bad marriage, even if she is a victim of marital violence. Often a wife stays in a bad marriage because she does not know how to make it financially on her own. Many times an abused woman does not know her legal rights, and women who opt for divorce are often unprepared for the trauma that follows. These are some of the major problems facing a woman upon separation, but now a Burlington County nonprofit organization called Network is offering three lectures to help women understand the legal, financial and emotional problems of a separation.

In the beginning was the myth that children were better off if their unhappy parents divorced. "It's better to come from a broken home than to live in one," they said. And millions of American parents separated. But after several decades had passed, researchers like Barbara Dafoe Whitehead and others showed that divorce was much worse for children than an unhappy home. Now, the Institute for American Values (www.americanvalues.org) has released a new study with some intriguing data about the effects of divorce on the unhappy couples themselves.

The husband was a postal worker in Delaware County, the wife, a homemaker. After 40 years of marriage, they divorced. "He wanted to be generous," recalled Lynne Z. Gold-Bikin, a Norristown lawyer who represented the wife. "So he offered to sell the house, which was worth about $120,000, and give her 75 percent of it. And he offered her about $300 a month in support payments. " At that point, the husband learned a hard lesson in divorce law. Gold-Bikin politely declined the offer.

Anna Benson wants a divorce from Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kris Benson, who still thinks the New York Mets traded him because of his impulsive wife. Anna Benson, an actress and model who has posed topless, filed for divorce in Atlanta yesterday. The petition for divorce claims the marriage is "irretrievably broken. " The couple has been married for 7 years. Kris Benson initially protested the deal that sent him to the Orioles. But now he thinks the Mets did him a favor.

WE DON'T KNOW if Kobe Bryant uttered the traditional words "for better or worse," when he wed soon-to-be ex-wife Vanessa. But if so, he couldn't have imagined "worse" could be this bad. According to the Los Angeles Times, Vanessa Bryant - who filed for divorce from the former Lower Merion star last month - just received three mansions worth more than $18 million as part of a pending settlement. The Times cited experts as saying that's only a small portion of the $75 million - not counting spousal and child support - she is expected to receive when the divorce is final.

A two-day seminar called "Fresh Start," for people coping with separation and divorce, will be held April 12 and 13 at the Church of the Saviour, 651 N. Wayne Ave., Wayne. The sessions begin April 12 with registration at 6:30 p.m., followed by a talk on "The Stages of Divorce and Recovery," and closing with a discussion. The April 13 program begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. Throughout the day there will be six workshops, group discussions and a luncheon. A separate program for children ages 6 to 16 will run concurrently with the adult sessions.

When she and Pete started breaking things, Dana Cantrell Parisi knew her marriage was over. She knew from watching her parents' divorce when she was 12. "They were the same way," she said. "They hated each other, fought constantly, threw things. It upset me and my brother and sister. When they split up, it was better. " Researchers say children of divorce are up to four times more likely to get divorced themselves than children who come from intact homes. Because her grandparents also split up, Dana will be the third generation in her family to divorce.

LOS ANGELES - They still fight like cats and dogs in divorce court. But more and more they are fighting about cats and dogs. Custody cases involving pets are on the rise across the country. In a 2006 survey by the 1,600-member American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, a quarter of respondents said pet custody cases had increased noticeably since 2001. The academy is due for another survey, but there is no doubt such cases have grown steadily since then, said Ken Altshuler of Portland, Maine, a divorce lawyer and AAML president.

Prince Charles dramatically ended 10 weeks of acrimonious deadlock yesterday by offering his estranged wife Princess Diana terms for divorce. Their 15-year marriage could be over in weeks. Lawyers acting for the prince handed over the proposals last night and will now await a reaction from Diana, who had complained to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II over what she saw as foot-dragging by Charles's camp over a settlement. "I can confirm that a response from the prince was received this evening," said Diana's media advise,r Jane Atkinson, who declined to comment further.

In the latest round in the Robin Givens-Mike Tyson fight, Givens yesterday danced away from a "quickie" Dominican Republic divorce, promoter Don King said. King, Tyson's partner and chief adviser, told United Press International that Givens "changed her mind at the last minute and said no to Tyson's divorce. " King said plans were set for a trip to the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo, to find lawyers to carry out the divorce. Dominican Republic President Joaquin Balaguer planned to meet the champion when he arrived, he said.