BRITAIN:Paul McCartney and his estranged wife Heather Mills will take their acrimonious divorce battle to open court next February, a court source said yesterday, after attempts to reach a private settlement failed.
The source said a five-day hearing had been scheduled with a fall-back date later in 2008 if the February hearing failed to produce an agreement.
British media have speculated that McCartney could have to part with between £20 million and £70 million (€28.7 million and €100.5 million) of his £825 million fortune in a final settlement, including a one-off lump sum plus annual payments.
The Evening Standard newspaper reported yesterday that the stumbling block during Thursday's lengthy meeting had been Mills's refusal to accept a gagging order as part of the deal.
Her spokesman declined to comment, and no one was immediately available to comment from the McCartney camp.
The settlement could set a new record for a contested divorce award in British courts.
In August last year, insurance magnate John Charman was ordered to pay out £48 million to his wife after they divorced in 2003 after 27 years of marriage.
McCartney (65) married Mills in 2002. They have a daughter, Beatrice, who turns four later this month.
Mills works for several charities, including those involved in banning landmines and preventing cruelty to animals.