For a lark, I proposed marriage to a beautiful young woman this week. The deal I offered was that she'd have custody of the credit cards and I'd have someone to look after me in my old age. I knew she wouldn't take it seriously, but hey, all the clichés apply: nothing ventured, nothing gained; fortune favours the brave; you never know until you try; a stitch in time saves nine.

Being kind, she didn't say "eeeeew" or call the police; she said that sounded like a fair arrangement. Not fair enough that we'll be naming the day, but fair enough that I won't be charged with harassment.

Driving home, I found myself thinking about the whole business of marriage, a boat that has always sailed without me. The theory is that you seek out your soulmate and live happily ever after. The reality these days is that more than half of married couples end up divorcing and remarrying another soulmate, I suppose, or a trophy wife, or a bride bought out of a catalogue.

So the romantic ideal doesn't work. It's a pretty recent notion, not much more than 100 years old. The Germans introduced it. Before that, people married for status, or money, with an eye to finding someone they could stand to be with for the rest of their lives.

Might there be a better model? We shun the idea of arranged marriages, but I would think they last longer than our present system. Parental pressure and all that. Most of us also shun the idea of old geezers buying child brides, and I can understand that. When your teenage bride looks into your yellowing eyes and says "I love you", you might harbour the notion that she was really speaking to your wallet, or just lying. Maybe you wouldn't care.

Money is one of the greatest problem-causers in marriage. Not enough is always a problem. Too much, similarly, can cause friction (I would guess). One person spending as much as possible while the other one tries to save also causes marital breakdown, as I mentioned a few weeks ago.

Divorce almost always ends up being about money. That topic has been on people's minds in the UK this week, with a leading expert in family law saying that women should no longer expect to get half of their husband's wealth in a divorce case. Wives who divorce their husbands before having children should not receive a penny in maintenance compensation, Baroness Deech said. She blamed the liberalising laws of the 1960s on creating a society where "there are no constraints on morality ... and where individual needs are (deemed) more important than those of families".

Lady Deech made the comments in a series of lectures on family law at Gresham College in London, where she is professor of law. Divorce laws are unfair to men, she argues, accusing judges of developing the law in a "paternalistic and unprincipled fashion".

She said: "The message is that getting married to a well-off man is an alternative career to one in the workforce. Maintenance law has been left behind by social developments and the failure to reconsider it has had unfortunate consequences. While the judges are trying hard to move with the times, it is no wonder that England is the divorce capital of Europe and out of step with other European countries."

In her first lecture, "Divorce law: a disaster", Lady Deech criticised the development of divorce law which has meant, she said, that society has abandoned "any pressure to conform to basic, long unchallenged tenets of private morality".

One English newspaper this week ran a list of the ten most expensive divorce settlements. They were:

1. Bernie & Slavica Ecclestone, £1 billion (2009)

The 24-year marriage of the tiny Formula 1 tycoon and his model wife ended on the grounds of his "unreasonable behaviour". She received about 42 percent of his £2.4 billion fortune.

2. Adnan & Soraya Khashoggi, £500 million (1980)

The arms dealer married his 20-year-old British sweetheart and divorced her almost two decades later.

3. Paloma Picasso & Rafael Lopez-Cambil, £200 million (1999)

Pablo Picasso's daughter helped to build a business empire that included everything from perfumes and jewellery to wallpaper with the help of her husband. He won half the value of the business when they divorced.

4. John & Beverley Charman, £64 million (2005)

Mr. Charman was referred to in the article as "the eighth richest man in the City", London's business district. He runs AXIS Capital, one of Bermuda's best-managed re/insurance companies.

5. Madonna & Guy Ritchie, £49 million (2009)

The Material Girl and her film director husband had a more amicable divorce than was expected. She now looks as if she were about 22 years old. Divorce can do wonders for your appearance, it seems.

6. Stephen & Alisa Marks, £40 million (2004)

The chairman of the French Connection met and proposed to his wife on the same night. A costly error, it seems.

7. The Aga Khan & Sally Croker-Poole, £30 million (1995)

The couple married in 1969. After their divorce, she went on to live with her divorce lawyer.

8. Sir Martin & Sandra Sorrell, £30 million (2005)

The head of advertising group WPP lived for a while in the basement of the couple's Knightsbridge townhouse.

9. Phil Collins & Orianne Cevey, £25 million (2006)

A serial bad marrier, drummer Phil divorced his first wife by fax, paid his second wife £20 million, and then things got worse the third time around.

10. Sir Paul McCartney & Heather Mills, £24 million (2008)

An ugly business. Ms Mills had a very public meltdown, which included pouring water over Sir Paul's barrister, Fiona Shackleton.

Despite all that, I'd marry the young woman to whom I proposed in a flash, which I can say with absolute certainty, because I stand about as much chance of that happening as I do of winning the Spanish lottery, for which I don't buy tickets.

Marriage is like a lottery in many ways, not least because you've gotta pay to play.