McCartney, Mills resume divorce talks

LONDON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Paul McCartney and Heather Mills appeared in a British courtroom Thursday for negotiations aimed at speeding up the end to their marriage.

The divorce could be the most costly in British legal history, The Telegraph reported.

Scheduled after months of bitter feuding between the former couple, the hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in Holborn was set to give McCartney and Mills an opportunity to reach a financial settlement and avoid a costly, public dispute, the newspaper said.

McCartney has reportedly offered Mills more than $40 million, but Mills is said to be seeking a settlement closer to $102 million.

Divorce lawyers following the case had said the couple will be eager to reach a settlement in an effort to spare their 3-year-old daughter, Beatrice, a lengthy legal process.

So far, the biggest contested divorce settlement on record is said to be the nearly $100 million that insurance broker John Charman was ordered to pay his former wife, Beverley, in May.