House of Lords to rule on divorce cases

LONDON, May 24 (Reuters) Britain's highest court, the House of Lords, will rule on two divorce cases today which could set a precedent for other multi-million pound settlements.

It is expected to establish benchmarks to be used by courts and lawyers in future cases for deciding how much someone should get when vast sums are involved.

Observers have said the rulings could have an impact on any divorce between former Beatle Paul McCartney, who has an estimated 825 million pounds, and his wife Heather Mills who announced last week they were separating after four years.

One of the two cases being ruled on is Miller versus Miller.

Multi-millionaire fund manager Alan Miller is challenging an order that he should hand over five million pounds to his former wife after just two years and nine months of marriage.

The couple had no children during the marriage but a judge initially decided Mrs Miller was entitled to a substantial settlement because she married with expectation of a future wealthy lifestyle.

In the second case, Julia McFarlane is challenging a ruling that her 250,000 pound maintenance from her husband Kenneth, a senior tax partner at a top accountancy firm, should only run for a limited number of years.

She wants the maintenance for life. The couple were married for 18 years.

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