Kobe Bryant is used to advancing to the second round of the NBA playoffs
and beyond. Now it seems that Kobe’s personal life is more advanced
than his professional life. His seemingly ill-fated relationship with
wife Vanessa is headed for Round 3! This Blog is forever grateful to Kobe
and his antics; he never fails to provide us with something to write about.
Whether it was dealing with adultery, dividing assets, or negotiating separation
agreements, Kobe was there to give us the content we needed to keep you,
the reader, entertained. He was back at it this week, on Valentine’s
Day no less, reconciling with Vanessa at a Lakers’ game in Los Angeles.
TMZ.com has reported and since confirmed that Kobe and Vanessa are working
on reconciling, despite the fact that Vanessa filed for divorce in December.
The two were spotted near the hard court on Tuesday and several pictures
of them embracing each other and kissing surfaced on the web shortly thereafter.
Interestingly, a property deal between the parties had already been executed
whereby Vanessa received three estates – yes, you are reading that correctly –
three, in Newport Beach. Can this deal be undone? What about the divorce process?
Can it be halted?
The divorce was scheduled to become final as of mid-June (six months from
the filing date in California).
In Canada, the couple must be living separate and apart for one year before
a divorce can be finalized. If at any time during that year, the parties
stop living separate and apart and attempt to reconcile, they may not
be able to continue to pursue a divorce on the grounds that there has
been a breakdown in their marriage.
Section 8 of the
Divorce Act deals with defining the grounds for divorce in Canada and it outlines how
the separation period is calculated. Section 8 (3) reads as follows:
Calculation of period of separation
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a),
(a) spouses shall be deemed to have lived separate and apart for any period
during which they lived apart and either of them had the intention to
live separate and apart from the other; and(b) a period during which spouses have lived separate and apart shall not
be considered to have been interrupted or terminated(i) by reason only that either spouse has become incapable of forming or
having an intention to continue to live separate and apart or of continuing
to live separate and apart of the spouse’s own volition, if it appears
to the court that the separation would probably have continued if the
spouse had not become so incapable, or(ii) by reason only that the spouses have resumed cohabitation during a
period of, or periods totalling, not more than ninety days with reconciliation
as its primary purpose.
Presuming that the Bryants were residents of Ontario, if the current resumption
of their relationship lasted anywhere from 1 to 90 days, they could continue
to pursue their divorce without the period of living separate and apart
having to be restarted. Once they have been reconciled for more than 90
days, they are no longer deemed to be living separate and apart.
Given the history between Kobe and Vanessa, nothing would surprise me.