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Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

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Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#61

Post by [deleted] »

commanda wrote: post #43
pohl wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What can we do? Abandon the institution of marriage entirely. Nuke it from orbit, as it were. It's the only way to be sure. The legal end of it is a mere wealth-redistribution mechanism. The social end of it is made of community who loves to witness people getting into marriages, but they scatter during the demise. So what function does it perform? From my perspective, it only serves to weaken commitment by trying to…

Actually, yes. Many marriages are entered into by two parties with the agreement that one party will be the primary caretaker of the children (home-maker), which is a profession that is unpaid. The other party will work outside the home and provide money for the family. In that case, the years of work that the home-maker has put in should be recognized as valid work, and in the event of a break-up of the marriage, th…

[deleted]

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#63

Post by inerte »

commanda wrote: post #43
pohl wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What can we do? Abandon the institution of marriage entirely. Nuke it from orbit, as it were. It's the only way to be sure. The legal end of it is a mere wealth-redistribution mechanism. The social end of it is made of community who loves to witness people getting into marriages, but they scatter during the demise. So what function does it perform? From my perspective, it only serves to weaken commitment by trying to…

Actually, yes. Many marriages are entered into by two parties with the agreement that one party will be the primary caretaker of the children (home-maker), which is a profession that is unpaid. The other party will work outside the home and provide money for the family. In that case, the years of work that the home-maker has put in should be recognized as valid work, and in the event of a break-up of the marriage, th…

commanda, you're correct but you answered the wrong question, the poster wanted to know why have marriages at all and not why alimony exists :)

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#64

Post by pavs »

alanh wrote: post #5

For shame. I don’t understand how someone can be so greedy as to try to take wealth their ex-parter created after explicitly agreeing not to do so! Edit: And due to lawyers’ fees, the couple’s net worth is decreased by millions in the process.

For this reason I don't see myself ever getting married. I can't even fully understand my childhood friend, how will I know if the women I married will not drastically change 10-15 years from now and use it against me knowing very well that the system is in her favor? There is nothing you can do, even a pre-nup is not safe.

Thanks to the divorce culture of USA, why would any sane person would want to get married?

For me the worst part of this case is that she was offered 80 million, 4 times more than what she was entitled for.... and she wants more?

Utterly despicable.

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#65

Post by elai »

pohl wrote: post #36
lionhearted wrote: post #18

> What caught me by surprise, and forced me to seek emergency loans from friends, were the enormous legal fees I had to pay my ex-wife's divorce lawyers. In a California divorce, the wealthier spouse must pay both sides of the battle even if they are not the aggressor. > The legal and accounting bills for the divorce total four million dollars so far, which is an average of roughly $170,000 per month for the past 24…

What can we do? Abandon the institution of marriage entirely. Nuke it from orbit, as it were. It's the only way to be sure. The legal end of it is a mere wealth-redistribution mechanism. The social end of it is made of community who loves to witness people getting into marriages, but they scatter during the demise. So what function does it perform? From my perspective, it only serves to weaken commitment by trying to…

If you live with someone in a committed relationship for more than two years, your automatically entered into a common law marriage, even if you don't realize it. It's hard to avoid it if you want a relationship! How do common-law divorces work?

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#66

Post by elai »

julius_geezer wrote: post #40
barmstrong wrote: post #10

This whole thing is a bit surprisingly to me since it seems like Elon covered his bases with the separate property agreement. Yet it still has been a major hassle for him money wise. Gene Simmons (from the band kiss) has an interesting approach to this which he wrote about in his book. He never married his long time partner and playboy playmate Shannon Tweed. But he took it even a step further having her and other li…

Common-law marriage is recognized in about three states, as I recall.

It fairly common throughout all of canada. Probably in various countries in europe too.

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#67

Post by pavs »

tbrooks wrote: post #32
acangiano wrote: post #9

The lesson here is: marriage is a very risky proposition, particularly if you are male or much richer (even just potentially) than your partner. (PS: Much respect for Musk.)

Risky, yes. But worth every bit of it if you marry a good one.

Have you been divorced and milked out of your hard earned money? If not, how would you know if it's worthed?

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#68

Post by elai »

MikeCapone wrote: post #30
acangiano wrote: post #9

The lesson here is: marriage is a very risky proposition, particularly if you are male or much richer (even just potentially) than your partner. (PS: Much respect for Musk.)

It can be a risk. But a good partner can also be an asset. In the book The Millionaire Next Door, many of the interviewees credit their spouses (usually a wife) for helping them succeed and keeping expenses low. You still have to pick the right partner, but if you can do that, it could be a big plus. But hey, I'm getting married next month, so take what I say with a grain of salt ;)

Get romantically married, but don't sign a contract with the government! By not singing some paperwork you can both avoid of alot of problems (but not all). Frame it like this: honey, I want to get married with you, not sign a business contract with you. Or I want to get married with you, not with the government too!

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#69

Post by stavrianos »

lionhearted wrote: post #18

> What caught me by surprise, and forced me to seek emergency loans from friends, were the enormous legal fees I had to pay my ex-wife's divorce lawyers. In a California divorce, the wealthier spouse must pay both sides of the battle even if they are not the aggressor. > The legal and accounting bills for the divorce total four million dollars so far, which is an average of roughly $170,000 per month for the past 24…

If the wealthier spouse ceases to be wealthier throughout the process (hypothetically, because of astronomical lawyer's fees), are the tables turned?

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#70

Post by cperciva »

arebop wrote: post #57
w1ntermute wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what you get for voluntarily involving the government in your personal matters. What bugs me most about the entire gay marriage debate is that it implies that the government should have control over the institution of marriage. The solution to the gay marriage debate is not to make it legal for gay people to get married, but to make it so that the government doesn't decide who can get married.

What politician wants to be "anti-marriage?" So, it's politically infeasible to discontinue marriage (or more specifically the government's involvement in marriage). Reforming marriage laws to apply equally regardless of sexual orientation or to simplify divorce, on the other hand, do seem more like near-term achievable goals.

When Canada was still arguing about how to handle gay marriage, several Canadian politicians (both gay and straight) did, in fact, argue in favour of abolishing marriage as a legal institution. It was seen by many people at the time as a compromise position.
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