News

The publicity surrounding the separation of Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills has gone unabated since first announced in May 2006. They are now moving into the final stages of resolving their divorce. They said in their press release at the time that the parting was amicable and they both still cared about each other very much, but even at that time there were conflicting reports in the press and certainly Heather in particular had continued to fuel the public interest. What is the court going to do?

Paul is said to be worth an estimated £825 Million. Set against such enormous wealth is the fact that this is only a 4 year marriage, but they have a 4 year old daughter Beatrice and it is her presence that will make all the difference.

It is reported that Paul, a private man, wanted a Gagging Order and may have been prepared to pay for it but faced with the reality on the evidence so far will a piece of paper make any difference?

The court will have determined the outcome on the basis of the law: look at the earning capacity, the needs, financial resources, the age of the parties, the duration of the marriage, physical and mental disability of the parties, contributions they have made to the welfare of the family.
In addition the court will seek to establish the value of any lost benefits brought about by the divorce and in cases where it cannot be avoided the conduct of the parties. I consider that looking at a case such as this where money is simply not an issue the court’s direct attention is going to be on making sure that Beatrice has financial security with her mother at a level that enables her to notice no discernable difference between her parents homes and what they can offer her. I doubt Heather Mills conduct in terms of how she has publicised this matter will be a factor the court will have considered. It has to be conduct of the most serious and damaging nature.

Family Lawyers were waiting for the decision only to see if our various bets as to outcome was correct but the reality is the amount of money involved in this marriage is at such a level it is not going to be a case that will be relied in our local County Courts. On the ground it is going to have very little impact other than one of satisfying our curiosity. The message to the general public has to be that divorce can be a long drawn out and unpleasant matter, it is emotionally and financially draining and life is on hold as in this case for nearly 2 years. If the parties cannot reach agreement then a court decision should be obtained as quickly as is reasonably practicable to bring the arguments to an end and although I suspect there will still be fall-out eventually, there will be an acceptance by both parties and this will enable them to leave the marriage and the issues around the breakdown behind.