Settlement May Be Near In Bitter McCartney-Mills Split

Mar. 12 -- Model Heather Mills may get $56 million in cash and property and joint custody of their daughter, Beatrice, in a divorce settlement with former Beatle Paul McCartney.

A settlement may be near in the high-profile divorce playing out across the pond between Paul McCartney and Heather Mills.

According to recent reports, Mills has agreed to a settlement that would give her $56 million in cash and property and joint custody of their daughter, Beatrice.

That doesn't mean the arguing between the former model and the rock star has died down, especially in light of Mills' debut on "Dancing With the Stars."

After less than five years, McCartney and Mills' marriage ended with reports that Mills was accusing McCartney of stabbing her with a wine glass and pushing her into a bath. He denies the accusations.

When they split last summer, there was talk that Mills might land a quarter of the 64-year-old former Beatle's estimated $1.6 billion fortune.

The divorce had promised courtroom carnage, but people might still see a lot of dirty laundry aired in public. It appears that a gag order is not part of the settlement deal, and if last week's preliminary hearings are any indication, each side will throw its fair share of jabs.

"What was achieved last week was that both of them got bloody noses in different directions," said divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd-Platt.

Success in Court Doesn't Mean Victory in Life

Mills may succeed in court if the $56 million settlement comes through. But in the court of public opinion, she isn't faring well, observers say. One newspaper recently said that she once worked as a porn model and a call girl. Mills plans to sue.

"Her PR machinery has not worked well, and she knows it," Lloyd-Platt said.

Lawyers said that under normal circumstances, they would expect McCartney to pay a premium for a gag order to protect his reputation. By not doing so, he may be trying to show the world that he has nothing to hide.

"It might be that's the gamble he is taking. It might be that he will think. & 'I'm a national icon in Britain, and in fact all over the world, and I will prove I'm the better person and I will go out there and do it in the press,'" Lloyd-Platt said.

The next step for Mills, who lost part of a leg in an accident in 1993, will be a dance step, as a contestant on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."

As for Mills' next step in court, her lawyers declined to comment to ABC News.

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