Celebrity spouses turn to magic circle for a bigger divorce payout

· Wealthy face 'treacherous lottery', warn top lawyers
· Legislation is hindrance to out-of-court settlements

For wealthy couples facing the end of their marriages, divorce has become a treacherous lottery. Divorce law in England and Wales is so uncertain and judges' discretion so wide that lawyers advising wealthy clients say they are finding it harder to reach out-of-court settlements and are forced to take more cases to court.

The battle over Chris Tarrant's assets, estimated at up to £35m, is the latest in a stream of "big money" divorces - the term lawyers and judges use for high stakes matrimonial carve-ups.

Last month Beverley, the ex-wife of the insurance magnate John Charman, won £48m - 37% of his wealth - though the case is on its way to the court of appeal. Bubbling away is the biggest battle of the lot over Sir Paul McCartney's £800m.

Ingrid Tarrant, who has two teenage children with the TV quiz show host, said last week that she was divorcing him. Her decision followed revelations of his 10-year secret affair with Fiona McKechnie, the deputy head of a primary school.

The couple, who both have two children each from previous marriages, split when her suspicions about the affair were confirmed after she called in private detectives. Mr Tarrant said he was "deeply sorry" for the hurt he had caused by the liaison and said he had only himself to blame for the breakdown of his marriage.

His wife, who spoke of her "shattered heart" and "physical decline", pledged the divorce would go ahead "in a fair and civil manner". She has hired Jeremy Levison of Levison Meltzer Pigott, one of the top solicitors - dubbed the "magic circle"- who represent the wealthy when their unions come unstuck.

Mr Levison, who represented Mandy Smith in her divorce with the Rolling Stone Bill Wyman in 1992, also acted for Kenneth McFarlane, the tax accountant who was ordered to pay his ex-wife Julia £250,000 a year from his £750,000 salary, on top of an agreed 50-50 split of the couple's assets, in a case which went all the way to the House of Lords this year.

The current law is "thoroughly hostile to marriage", said Mr Levison, at least where the rich are concerned. Wealthy men are spurning wedlock because they cannot protect their assets by prenuptial agreements, which are not binding in England and Wales.

"I have personal experience now of wealthy people who have decided in the middle of negotiating a prenup that the risk is too great and they're not getting married," said Mr Levison.

"There are many, many pitfalls. If a client says can you guarantee me 100% that this will hold, you have to say no."

For women who emerge comfortably off from one divorce there is a strong disincentive to remarry, he said.

Those, such as Mrs McFarlane, who receive big maintenance awards would lose them if they remarried. And those who get big capital settlements could forfeit a large chunk of their money on a second divorce if the second husband was poorer.

After the McFarlane ruling - in which the law lords also upheld a £5m award to Melissa Miller, former wife of the New Star fund manager Alan Miller, after less than three years of marriage - Mr Levison's advice was: "1. Don't marry; 2. If you do, make sure your other half is as wealthy as you are; and 3. Do a prenuptial agreement and keep your fingers crossed."

Lawyers hoped the judgment by five law lords in Miller and McFarlane would bring greater clarity to a developing area of the law, but say the result has been the opposite.

"You go to the lectures given by the barristers and you can draw out of these wretched cases anything you like," said Mr Levison. "You can draw out of them that a short marriage is relevant or that it's not relevant.

"You can draw out that inherited assets are relevant and they should be taken into a separate category or that they're not. You can draw out of them that business assets fall into a separate category from other assets or that they don't.

"It's just a complete lottery. The only thing everyone seemed to agree on is that my poor client had to pay a lot of money."

Mark Harper of the law firm Withers, another of the magic circle and who acts for Mr Charman, said: "It's bitterly disappointing that the House of Lords weren't able to come up with one agreed judgment and as a result of that there will be enormous further litigation."

That comes at a high price when fees for barristers and solicitors in big money cases average £350-400 an hour, with some as high as £500 an hour.

Mr Harper said: "Any client who comes wanting a prenup who's concerned about protecting their assets, the advice has to be they shouldn't get married. If their main concern is asset protection, they shouldn't get married."

Mr Levison said he was told by a judge in the high court's family division, which covers England and Wales: "There are 20 high court judges in the family division and we all disagree with each other."

One type of case was causing particular difficulties in reaching out-of court settlements, he added. "Here's the big imponderable at the moment ... You have Mr and Mrs Big Money Average, say £12m to £20m in the case. No problem there, she gets her £6m-£10m.

"But he's still earning £1m a year net. How is that factored in? Does he keep all of that million? Does she carry on getting half a million on an ongoing basis? Does she get more than 50% of the capital to compensate her for the fact that he has an ongoing income?

"You tell me the answer - none of us knows what it is. And we can't settle those sorts of cases. I've got one going to court next week. We can't settle the case because we don't know what the answer is. The cases have to fight because nobody knows the answer."

Landmark decisions
Dividing the spoils

2001 Michael and Jacqueline Cowan

Binbag entrepreneur who built up a £12m fortune. Married for 35 years

Award Jacqueline Cowan won £4.4m. Court ruled Michael was entitled to 62% because his contribution to the family wealth was exceptional.

2004 Karen and Ray Parlour

Footballer with Arsenal, Middlesbrough and England. Married for three years after three years of living together. Three children.

Award On top of agreed capital of £1.25m -37% of assets - she got a third of his £1.2m income as Arsenal footballer for four years. Court ruled that where capital is insufficient for a clean break, wives may be awarded share of income beyond reasonable needs.


Beverley and John Charman

Insurance magnate, married for 29 years, adult children.

Award She got £48m, 37% of assets. He kept 63% because of his exceptional contribution. Money he put into "dynastic trust" held to be part of pot.

Melissa and Alan Miller

Childless marriage of under three years.

Award She got £5m of his assets of at least £30m. Decided childless wives in short marriages can expect more than a return to previous lifestyle.

Julia and Kenneth McFarlane

16-year marriage with three children.

Award She got £250,000 a year of her husband's £750,000 a year for life, plus agreed 50-50 share of assets. Law lords ruled that wives who give up lucrative career are entitled to compensation.