Madonna children go to US after £30m divorce deal

Frances Gibb, Legal Editor

Madonna's three children will be brought up with her in the United States under the terms of her multi-million-pound divorce settlement with Guy Ritchie.

Under a deal to be finalised by lawyers within two weeks, the pop star and Mr Ritchie have agreed that their two sons, Rocco, 8, and David, 3, who was adopted from a Malawi orphanage, should live in New York. Madonna's eldest child, Lourdes, 12, already lives in the city. Legal sources said that the couple were concerned that the family should not split up.

The deal is the final piece of the settlement hammered out in recent weeks between lawyers for Madonna and her film director former husband. It is understood that Mr Ritchie has received close to £30 million, including a 1,200-acre estate in Wiltshire and a pub in London. Madonna is believed to have a £300 million fortune. She and Mr Ritchie confirmed in October that they were to split after being married for eight years. They were granted a “quickie” decree nisi in the High Court in London in November and a decree absolute six weeks later.

A legal source confirmed that Madonna has been given temporary permission to remove the two boys from Britain. The decision paves the way for Madonna, 50, to resume her life in New York. Mr Ritchie is also there, working on his production of Sherlock Holmes.

The decision is also a triumph for the couple's lawyers — Helen Ward, for Mr Ritchie, and Fiona Shackleton, acting for Madonna. The pair, two of London's most experienced and sought-after matrimonial lawyers, succeeded in keeping the negotiations on the rails and, crucially, out of court.

The settlement was in stark contrast to the battle surrounding the divorce of Sir Paul McCartney, for whom Ms Shackleton acted, and Heather Mills. Ms Shackleton also acted for Prince Charles when he separated from Diana, Princess of Wales.

Lady Ward is less well known than Ms Shackleton, but this could change, not least because she is to act for Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One chief, whom she will be helping to claw back as much as possible of the £2billion fortune that he put in an offshore trust in the name of his wife, Slavica. The case could be the biggest divorce settlement in legal history.

Like Ms Shackleton, Lady Ward (she is married to the Court of Appeal judge Lord Justice Ward) prides herself on discretion. Neither gives interviews. The pair are also alike in their loyalty to their clients and their tenacity — although their style differs. And they are, of course, alike in the level of fees: each charges in the region of £500 an hour.