Paul McCartney and Heather Mills returned to court on Monday in an attempt to agree on terms for their divorce. The former Beatle is estimated to have upwards of $1.6 billion in personal wealth and could likely find himself in the UK's largest ever divorce settlement ever.
"Current estimates suggest that Heather is likely to receive anything from 50 million to 100 million pounds ($100 million to $200 million) as her final settlement," said Suzanne Kingston, a family law expert.
Press reports have suggested that McCartney has offered his wife around $50 million, and that she is seeking at least double that amount.
"The fact that this has been a short marriage will be taken into account and this could involve looking at the wealth that has been generated during the course of the marriage as distinct from premarital wealth," Kingston added.
Mills intends to represent herself. She fired her lawyers in November after a series of interviews in which she accused McCartney of failing to protect her and their child from abuse, which she says ranges from lies and slander to death threats.
"We've had death threats, I've been close to suicide. I'm so upset about this," she said in one of her November interviews. "I've had worse press than a pedophile or a murderer, and I've done nothing but charity for 20 years."
"I am the one that is abused daily," she added.
"I have protected Paul for this long and I am trying to protect him but I am being pushed to the edge and I don't want my daughter when she is 12 going on the Internet and reading this totally one-sided story."
In other news, a former boyfriend has come forward to say he was seeing Heather while she was dating Sir Paul. She dated British film editor Tim Steel on and off for three years, but broke off their relationship shortly after meeting the ex-Beatle at an awards ceremony in May 1999.
Steel claims Heather consulted him about marrying McCartney but was only interested in wedding the star because of the opportunities it would bring her. "Marriage to him (McCartney) opened lots of doors for her and that's the only reason she did it."
