LA-style ruling shatters illusions

WHEN the 1995 referendum lifted the ban on D.I.V.O.R.C.E. (as Tammy Wynette sung it so as not to upset little J.O.E.), the letters were supposed to spell freedom.

But just as the act of ending a marriage could cut an unhappy spouse loose from the kind of misery you'd need a heavy goods licence to carry around, it could also liberate him or her from their assets.

And now we're finding out just how much that kind of liberty can cost.