Mills could be in line for a pay-out of 200 million pounds sterling(1 pound sterling= 1.844 United State dollars) - nearly a quarter of her husband's fortune as legal experts predicted.

    Alan Kaufman, the head of family law at Finers Stephens Innocent in London, said: "This will be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, divorce cases to hit the English courts, if it gets that far."

    "Although we are not like America and most of Europe, where these things are binding, there are a number of precedents in which a pre-nuptial agreement has been counted as a major factor in the English courts. It would certainly have given Sir Paul a much better shot and I bet he's bloody sorry now he didn't have one," Kaufman said.

    Although the British news media reported at the time of the wedding that McCartney's children had insisted that he sign such an agreement, he later said he had not, considering it "unromantic." Besides, a publicist for Mills said on her Web site, "he knew it was completely unnecessary."

    That omission will allow Mills to claim 50 percent of his earnings during the past four years, as well as a settlement on behalf of their daughter, Beatrice.

    While Mills will not get any of the money he earned during his time with The Beatles and Wings, she is eligible for a percentage of his most recent earnings, including the 48.5 million pounds he made last year from record sales and a tour of the United States. Enditem

    
(Agencies)