Magazine - News

The talk is of romance: white dresses, salmon starters, champagne and "little magic touches". But while brides-to-be visiting the National Wedding Show in Birmingham this weekend may be dreaming of the happy-ever-after, those with a more jaded experience of married life are also being catered for.

A US man divorcing his wife is demanding that she return the kidney he donated to her or pay him $1.5m (£1m) in compensation. Dr Richard Batista told reporters that he decided to go public because he was frustrated at the slow pace of divorce negotiations with his estranged wife.

A divorcee has been awarded £50,000 a year maintenance - to keep her horses in the manner to which they have become accustomed. What does this mean for tug-of-love battles over the family pet, asks solicitor Kathy Pinney.

There is likely to be a sharp rise in the number of children seeking help with the pain of their parents' separations, ChildLine has warned. The phone counselling service says more than one child a day calls the hotline because of arguments at home.

When Fred Matt got his first Matchbox car when he was five years old, little did he know that it was to be the start of a collection that would be worth upwards of £300,000. And little did he know that this astonishing collection would help fund his divorce 41 years later.

Divorce has a lingering, detrimental impact on health that even remarriage cannot fully repair, a study suggests. A Chicago study involving 8,652 people aged 51 to 61 found divorced people have 20% more chronic illnesses such as cancer than those who never marry.

The number of children abducted in Britain and taken abroad illegally has risen by a fifth, to almost 500, since 2005, it has been reported. Abducted children were most likely to be taken to Pakistan, frollowed by the USA, Ireland and Spain.

A divorce fair, described by its organisers as a wedding fair's "evil twin", has been organised to give advice to troubled couples. Leicester divorcee Clive Langley said he was encouraged to set up the free event after witnessing the poor advice often given to couples separating.

Couples should have a compulsory three-month "cooling off" period before they can start divorce proceedings, a Conservative think tank will recommend. A report commissioned by ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith will also propose a network of family relationship centres to advise before and during marriage.

An Aberdeenshire fisherman has been ordered to pay his former wife of 25 years more than £3.3m under a divorce settlement. Ann Watt was awarded more than double the amount she claimed husband James had offered.

A City tycoon hit by the recession has failed in court to cut an £11m divorce settlement with his former wife. Brian Myerson, 50, agreed the deal from £25.8m of assets, including shares in his company, last year.

The wife of Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has filed for divorce, it has been confirmed. A spokeswoman for Slavica Ecclestone said the announcement had been prompted by media speculation.