A shocking news report released just this week revealed that former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has agreed to pay his ex-wife Veronica Lario around $132,000 per day as part of a divorce settlement.
The former Prime Minister finally agreed to the whopping $48 million per year alimony in a bid to end the divorce that has stretched on since 2009. The offer Berlusconi finally settled on came after years of horse-trading. Ms. Lario began by demanding $56 million per year, a figure vastly higher than the $5 million per year Berlusconi first offered. The final figure ended much closer to Lario’s demands, likely due to the sensitive nature of the divorce.
Ms. Lario first left Berlusconi in 2009 after it was revealed the Italian leader was seen at the 18th birthday party of an escort. Berlusconi didn’t come away empty-handed, he’s keeping the marital estate, a $100 million villa where the couple lived with their three children. Berlusconi also has plenty of money to pay the support; Forbes Magazine recently estimated his worth at almost $6 billion.
Though most South Carolinians don’t need to worry about paying their spouse six figures each day in support, alimony is a common source of tension in divorce proceedings. In South Carolina, there is no formula for setting the amount of spousal support; instead, alimony is decided at the discretion of the trial judge. There are 13 factors that the Court considers when awarding alimony, but it is typically only given upon a showing of need by one party together with a corresponding ability to pay by the other.
Though there are no clear rules, it is less common for alimony to be awarded in marriages that last less than 10 years. It’s also rare to see it given in cases where the two spouses had similar incomes. It’s usually saved for situations where one spouse was dependent on the other financially. However, if one spouse was to blame for the fault of the marriage there have been cases in South Carolina where alimony has been awarded for shorter marriages.
There are many different types of alimony, including rehabilitative support, which is an option in shorter marriages to help one spouse get back into the job market or when that person needs support for a finite period of time to learn other job skills or get on their feet.
Source: “Berlusconi to pay $47 million per year in divorce settlement,” by Reuters, published at ChicagoTribune.com.
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