Settlement May Be Near For Macca
Over the weekend, it was reported in the News of the World, a London tabloid, that Heather Mills McCartney and Paul McCartney had reached a settlement in their acrimonious divorce proceedings.
Heather has allegedly given up on her demands of $20,000 a day and will agree to accept the equivalent of $50 million cash settlement and an $8 million Georgian home and joint custody of their daughter Beatrice.
With the help of Patricia Hollings, a divorce lawyer in London, co-anchor Julie Chen of The Early Show took a look at what the stories might mean.
"We don't know whether either side have really settled," explained Hollings. "There's been no public announcement, either whether they've settled or the terms of a settlement so at the moment, it's just rumor."
The settlement would be "a lot of money for her. In terms from a legal perspective, my personal view is it's a good settlement for him … because of his worth." The reported settlement would work out to about 3 percent of McCartney's fortune.
It is also reported that Paul and Heather will share custody of their 3-year-old daughter, Beatrice. In the United States, it's very common to have joint custody. Is it as common in the U.K.?
"It's becoming more common but it's still not the norm," said Hollings. "It's fairly unusual … There's a movement towards it but it's not normal at the moment, no."
And Paul will be paying child support as well.
"Let's be real about this," said Hollings. "The likelihood is when she was already pregnant with this child is, she already had a trust provision. It was a separate battle for the financial settlement with the wife."
Click here to see photos of Heather Mills McCartney
By British standards, was this divorce settlement reached rather quickly or did it take a while?
"No, it was quick," said the lawyer. "If there has been a settlement, it is quick … If this matter has been fought full term, it could have taken at least 12 months and quite possibly longer."
"I think that that played a major element in it, yes," the lawyer concluded. "I think she needed to save her own face. And at the end of the day, you know, the damage had been done, the potential allegations on the divorce petition. He did have a lot more to lose. People didn't believe those allegations. He was fine. He could bargain on the financial settlement."
Heather, meanwhile, is busily promoting her next professional movie, an appearance as a regular competitor on the TV dance competition series, "Dancing with the Stars."