Tiger

Tiger’s divorce is done (quietly….)

As I discussed in a recent blog entry, private resolution of potentially public disputes is a real challenge, but almost always worth the effort. Even though the Tiger vs. Elin divorce (click for Washington Post story) garnered about as much press as any in recent history, apparently they were able to reach resolution privately. At least at this point, the terms of the settlement have been kept secret and that is a compliment to the parties, their lawyers, the lawyers’ office staffs and the family and friends of the parties who may have been privy to details. My congratulations to the parties and the lawyers for keeping the terms private, at least so far.


Tiger and Elin trying to get it done privately

There is so much speculation about the impending Tiger v. Elin settlement, that it is hard to know what the agreement will be.  It seems Tiger wants Elin to keep things private and it looks like Elin will be compensated well for that.  But $750,000,000.00?  That seems like quite an overpayment and I imagine the settlement numbers will be much lower.

But so what?  It is their business.  He earned the money and she is his wife and the mother of his children (paternity claims of others notwithstanding).  My point is that these two have shared things that no one else can fully understand or appreciate.  Any settlement is a compromise between two people where each obtains something they want.  Based on the public speculation and intermittent reports, it seems Tiger wants privacy and Elin wants financial security. What do those terms mean?  It is up to them.  Sure we can all speculate and say that she is overreaching or that he is overpaying (some say there is no amount he can pay for what he did, but many would feel that several million would be a good start if their spouse tried to purchase their forgiveness).

But the real answer to what will the settlement be, is: whatever they choose.  They both have able counsel and will ultimately each get what they want or they will not reach an agreement.  Tiger can seemingly afford a luxurious settlement amount and Elin, with such financial security can likely be convinced to keep it all private. She has so far.  If it was truly all about vengeance, it seems she would have gone public by now.  So, good for each of them.  For working on it privately and for possibly resolving such a large division of assets rather quickly, efficiently and secretly.