Business: McCartney divorce brings hope to super-wealthy

Heather Mills did not impress the Judge at the hearing as to the share of the McCartney family assets she should be allowed to take following her split from the man who is still remembered as one of The Beatles, despite the fact that he has been something else for several times longer than that venture lasted.

She claimed GBP125 million out of the estimated GBP400 million in McCartney assets. The judge regarded that claim as preposterous (he actually said "ridiculous which, in judge speak, means something much stronger), and worse, considered that her evidence had been full of inconsistencies and that she had not be "completely candid." That's judge-speak for saying he thought she lied. Sir Paul, on the other hand, he found calm and honest.

Mills reportedly threw water over McCartney's barrister who left court yesterday smiling but bedraggled.

The order, which Mills sought to have suppressed claiming that it would put her daughter at risk (of what?) gives her GBP24.3 million.

But the case marks an important difference between two approaches to division of assets on divorce. In several US states, notably California, the concept of community property means that, in the absence of an express agreement to the contrary, all assets in the family at the end of a marriage will be pooled and divided equally. Under English law, the test is the needs of the parties - up to the point where the settlement is sufficient to enable the party with least assets to live a life reasonably consistent with her (it's usually the wife) lifestyle in the marriage. But although there is no formal ceiling, courts will generally take a view on how much is enough rather than adopt a totally accounting-based approach. In England "pre-nuptual agreements" will be seen by the court as indicative of the wishes of the parties at the time but will not regard them as binding on the Court - a position which is consistent with the general principle of English law that parties cannot contract out of (or "oust") the jurisdiction of the Court.

The case will bring hope to some of the world's wealthy - but only to a point. It might result in a race to court for the usual principle is that the court in which proceedings are first issued will be "seized of the matter." So expect to see wives dashing off to California to file divorce papers first, if they can establish a link to that state, and expect to see husbands dashing to London, or the other way around if the wife is the rich spouse.