TV and Movies

[mousiegirl]

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@Mz iMac wrote:

Dan was a lawyer AND knew lawmakers in "high places" who helped him bend the law (loopholes) to his advantage.

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@Mz iMac   Yes, as I said, he had power and abused it, too bad there wasn't at least one attorney with a backbone.

[sunshine45]

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@mousiegirl wrote:

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@sunshine45 wrote:

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@Houstonoilers wrote:

She was getting 16K a month spousal support and lived in a mansion.  I believe I could definetely get over any man and move on given those circumstances.

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The long drawn-out Broderick divorce was finalized in 1989, four years after Dan filed for it. By many accounts, Dan dragged the divorce out for four years on purpose. In California, there was a little-known legal concept called "Epstein credits" which worked to thwart any financial settlement entitled to Betty. By the time the divorce trial came to fruition, because of Epstein credits, Betty's share of community property had been substantially reduced. Epstein credits are a provision under California divorce law which says that the supporting spouse (in this case Dan) may charge the dependent spouse (Betty) for one-half of all community debts accumulated – not from the date of divorce, but from the date of separation. If there is a substantial amount of time (in the interim), a dependent spouse may actually accumulate enough Epstein credits to effectively cancel out any share of the community property which might have been forthcoming had the divorce been finalized immediately after separation.

In the case of the Brodericks, legal maneuverings and delays postponed the divorce trial incident after incident. At the divorce trial, Betty represented herself without an attorney. In what many believed was outrageously unfair and what only solidified Dan's clout in the local legal arena, the Broderick divorce trial was completely sealed off from the public at Dan's request. The courtroom door windows were covered up with paper. At the end of the eight day trial, Judge William Howatt accepted all of Dan's proposed numbers and ruled that Betty owed Dan $750,000 in Epsteins and cash advances, all accrued between the time Dan moved out and the date the divorce was final on January 30, 1989.

In the end, Dan Broderick, multi-millionaire and the father of Betty's four children, was ordered to pay his wife of 20 years less than $30,000 in cash. In addition, Dan was re-awarded custody of the children.

https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/broderick-betty.htm

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@sunshine45   She lived in a house on the beach, not a mansion.  Betty should have received half of the community property, it is law in California or was at that time, but Dan had te power and no one in the legal field would help her, until the trial.

Dan was filthy rich, thanks to Betty supporting him while he was in school,  birthing four children, and having several miscarriages and working to support all of them.

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@mousiegirl 

yes, i know she did not live in a mansion and really got the short end of the stick. unfortunately, dan had power behind him in many ways and she had nothing. i dont condone her killing, and she made other mistakes also regarding her children, but she was really pushed to her limit and beyond and they wanted to hurt her. she definitely deserved so much more than what she got in regards to the settlement and the children. unfortunately, it really messed with her mental state.

[deedledeedeedle]

Say what you will about BB (and I know that she is a mentally ill woman), but she also refused to be discarded by her husband! As Cads go, he was one of the worst. He wouldn't have been nearly as successful as he was if not for her.

The real victims in this case are her children IMO.

dee

[Mz iMac]

Not saying I agree w/Betty but, I understand.......

[Pink123]

Thanks for the heads up. I will definitely watch but

I have to say that Meredith Baxter Birney will be tough to beat playing Betty. She was excellent in the film and I've seen it a few times.  Crazy!

[texassunflower]

@sunshine45  I watched the Dirty John series when it aired and enjoyed the mini series. I have seen both Lifetime movies with Meredith Baxter several times. Meredith did an excellent job. Amanda Peet and Christian Slater are good actors and this mini series should be good. I don't see a release date. Do you know when the series will air or has a date not been accomplished yet? Thank you for the reminder. 

[sunshine45]

@texassunflower 

i believe it is coming in june, but i dont see a specific date yet. i was hoping it would be sooner than that since many of us are stuck at home.

official trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbl7h22xpok

[San Antonio Gal]

@sunshine45  - I enjoyed watching Meredith Baxter play BB as I watched the movie several times over the years.  As everyone states, she did a superb perfomance portraying BB.   However, Peet and Slater are both fine actors too and I would love to see their performances come June.  Thanks for the heads up.  If you don't mind, please remind us in June? 

[twocatlou]

Tonight's the night and I'm ready to watch this.  The first Dirty John was well done and this is worth the look see.

[VaBelle35]

The Lifetime movies were great, but they did sensationalize it a bit for ratings.

Betty dedicated her life to Dan and he repaid her by cheating and leaving and then tried to keep her from getting what she was entitled to under the law.

While I don't think he and his new wife needed to die, he could have very easily settled this quickly and quietly and given Betty some peace.  When it escalated, he could have just given in and let it go.