Family Law

How to Make Your Divorce Like Tiger Woods'

By J. Benjamin Stevens

Last week, the public learned that Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren had finalized their divorce.  What was surprising is what was not heard last week.  There was no knock down drag out fight.  No "he said – she said".  No hooplah at all.  Just the following statement they jointly released:

We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future. While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us. Once we came to the decision that our marriage was at an end, the primary focus of our amicable discussions has been to ensure their future well-being. The weeks and months ahead will not be easy for them as we adjust to a new family situation, which is why our privacy must be a principal concern. 

Odds are that you will never be able to hit a golf ball like Tiger, but you can divorce like him if you follow these three simple steps:

1. Determine your true priorities.  It is obvious that the Tiger and Elin wanted to spare their children from a lengthy, nasty, public divorce.  For that reason, both parties likely made concessions in order to achieve that goal.  Had their priorities been greed or revenge, their divorce would have played out like many other celebrity divorces – such as Frank and Jamie McCourt's divorce trial that began this week.
2. Take reasonable and prudent actions.  Would it have made Elin feel better to come out and call Tiger every name in the book for his infidelities?  Certainly, but toward what end?  In the long term, doing so would not really benefit her in the divorce case, and those scathing words would always be public knowledge for her children to read about their father one day.
3. Hire the best attorney that you can afford.  It should be obvious that both Elin and Tiger had excellent attorneys, because both parties accomplished their main goals in the case. Both parties seem to have done well financially.  They worked out a schedule with their children.  They kept their private life private, to the benefit of themselves and their children.

Full post as published by SC Family Law Blog on August 31, 2010 (boomark / email).