Mills awarded $48.6M from McCartney

A judge awarded Heather Mills a total of $48.6 million Monday in the financial settlement of her divorce from former Beatle Paul McCartney.

A document released by the Family Court said the judge awarded Mills a lump sum of $33 million plus the assets she currently holds worth $15.6 million.

"I`m so, so happy with this," Mills told reporters following the closed hearing.

The court also ruled that the couple`s 4-year-old daughter Beatrice should receive a "periodical payments order" of $70,000 per annum. On top of that, McCartney will pay for the child`s nanny and school fees.

Mills had sought almost $250 million, while McCartney had said she should receive $31.6 million, including her own assets, which the court assessed at $15.6 million.

Judge Hugh Bennett found that the total value of all of McCartney`s assets, including his business assets, was about $800 million. He said there was no evidence to support the widely published figure that was more than twice as much.

McCartney left the court without making any statement.

"I`m so glad it`s over," Mills said at her impromptu news conference.

"It was an incredible result in the end to secure mine and my daughter`s future and that of all the charities that I obviously plan on helping and making a difference with - because you know it has been my life for 20 years," she said.

"Obviously the court do not want a litigant in person to do well, it`s against everything that they ever wish, so when they write the judgment up they`re never going to make it look in favor.

"But all of you that have researched know that it was always going to be a figure between 20 and 30 million (pounds), Paul was offering a lot less than that, which you`ll see in the judgment, and very much last minute to put me and Beatrice sadly through this ... incredibly sad."

sections: Celebrities