Madonna and Ritchie 'to divorce' | Who owns what?

Madonna may think twice about filing for divorce in England, as a string of high profile have settlements won London the reputation of being the divorce capital of the world - for the poorer partner in a marriage.

The pop singer is reported not to have signed a pre-nuptial agreement with Guy Ritchie, which might have helped to limit his ultimate payout.

Faced with judgements such as the £48m award to Beverley Charman from her insurance magnate husband John's £161m fortune in 2006, Madonna might decide she can hang on to more of the couple's reported £300m fortune by filing in the US, where awards to partners are generally lower.

"New York might be a better place in terms of what she might have to pay out," said Elizabeth Baghurst, associate at Boodle Hatfield in Oxford.

"For someone like Madonna, who is very wealthy, the UK is not at the present time thought to be a good place to have your divorce, as the payouts are big.

"She would have to meet the residency requirements to fall under New York jurisdiction, but she has a home there (a £2m apartment overlooking Central Park)."

If Guy Ritchie tried to file for divorce in London, the ensuing battle over jurisdiction could make the divorce drag on for over a year - a far cry from Madonna's reported desire to have the whole matter done and dusted by Christmas. But trying to conclude a divorce in eight weeks was always going to be a tall order.

"Even if you have reached an agreement about everything, to get a divorce by Christmas is pushing it," says Ms Baghurst. "The normal duration is 12-16 weeks, to give time to serve papers within set time limits and to obtain a timeslot at court."

Assuming the couple can't agree and the case does go ahead at the High Court in London, the quantum - exactly how much each side could expect to walk away with - would be decided by legal argument over the so-called Section 25 factors listed in the 1973 Matrimonial Causes Act, says Elizabeth Hicks, head of family law at Irwin Mitchell in London.

The process starts with each partner disclosing to the court everything they own and earn - a point of controversy in Heather Mills' divorce from Sir Paul McCartney, when she claimed his fortune topped £800m but the court put it at £400m.

Wealth and property which predate the relationship are usually treated differently from wealth built up during the marriage, where courts may consider a more equal split, says Ms Hicks.

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