This author is not much for the world of Hollywood although this law firm does have an office there. But in reviewing the general news of the day, the screen divulged that the divorce involving Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez is now on hold, nine months after that party started.

This is a new phenomenon affecting the ordinary world as well. We have several cases where the parties have either found a reason to stop the presses of divorce filings or just take a pause to refresh.

In olden times, like the 20th century, a break in the action was very rare.  Once a split occurred both parties tended to pound away until the case was either litigated or settled.  There was no “Finland” or Christmas 1914 when soldiers from the Allies and Axis gathered to sing “Silent Night”.  But today, people are doing a better job of taking stock in the havoc that divorce can wreak and sometimes they realize that things were not as bad as they seemed or that the man or woman who may have enticed a separation was not “the best” or even “better.”

The problem with a break is a financial one. For people securing divorce, trust levels are low and the job of the lawyer is to identify the assets that existed at or about the time of separation and make certain they don’t disappear.  That can be hard enough to do when the couple are unhappily split but when they re-unite only to divide once again, it is the task of the lawyer and the forensic accountant to make certain that during the Summer of Love or reconciliation no one stole or dissipated the assets to be divided.  In many instances as well, reconciliation prompts decisions to buy a new home or to take the dream vacation that the couple always wanted.  If the marriage survives, the couple can typically absorb that financial wave.  But if things don’t work out, the financial burdens are now greater and, as we all know, houses can’t be split down the middle.

So if you decide to take a break either from exhaustion or out of renewed affection, just be certain to keep it real and maintain very careful records of your assets and expenses.

One other note. There certainly was plenty of news during the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard controversy that erupted this spring with allegations of physical violence.  What made this matter all the more interesting is the fact that for both participants there was a lot at stake.  Here were two people with enormously lucrative star power whose agents no doubt grimaced when the abuse case was filed.  The risk was that either or both would be found to be violent or dishonest in their statements as to what occurred.  The public tends to be tolerant of what celebrities do but no one ever got a lucrative role for unsocial behavior.  Although there was a dust up at the end about “how” Depp paid the settlement, the end was otherwise peaceable and the brand names remain bankable.  Even real world clients need to realize that while there is undeniable power in getting out the whole truth that truth can come with very drastic consequence.