Sir Paul McCartney is poised to sign a record divorce settlement which will see Heather Mills walk away with £55million.
Miss Mills is to take a lump sum of £20million and a further £2.5million a year for the next 14 years - every year until their daughter Beatrice turns 18, the Daily Mail can reveal.
As part of the arrangement, Miss Mills will never be allowed publicly to discuss in detail the reasons behind the breakdown of the six-year marriage.
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I once had a girl: The Mills McCartney divorce settlement is almost complete
The substantial annual payout includes a large share put aside solely to cover the cost of round-the-clock security for Miss Mills whether Beatrice is with her or not after she recently revealed she had been the target of "death threats".
Miss Mills, 40, will be Beatrice's main carer but 65-year-old Sir Paul will have equal visiting rights. There will be hand-overs every week and each parent will spend alternate weekends with Beatrice.
Such an arrangement is expected to make touring complicated for the former Beatle.
Miss Mills has also agreed not to seek to live abroad for at least the next five years, which would rule out any immediate hopes of a full-time career as a media personality in America.
As part of the arrangement, Sir Paul had not wanted Beatrice to go to private school but Miss Mills appears to have got her way and Beatrice is expected to begin her first term in paid-for education in Britain this autumn.
Sir Paul's property portfolio - including the marital home in North London and homes in Sussex, Scotland, New York and Los Angeles - remains his under the deal.
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Emotional: Heather shocked the nation by speaking out about life being seperated from Sir Paul
The large sum also reflects Miss Mills's success in arguing that Sir Paul should clear an outstanding legal bill with her former lawyers Mishcon de Reya, which is understood to stand at some £2million.
Despite being equivalent to only 7 per cent of Sir Paul's estimated £825million fortune, the sum will be the highest settlement given to a wife in Britain.
The £55million exceeds the £48million businessman John Charman was told to pay his former wife last year.
One High Court judge who has presided over numerous divorce cases told the Mail yesterday that the deal in fact "favours McCartney", since he will be paying out only £20million immediately, then be earning interest on the rest until the annual payments go out to Miss Mills. The judge said: "Had Heather got the whole lot now, the interest alone would have ensured that over the years she would have been a lot better off. And it is a very small share of McCartney's fortune.
Heather Mills: Will receive seven per cent of Sir Paul's fortune
"That said it is the kind of settlement one would expect would be awarded by a judge, when all the variables are taken into account.
"It's sensible and both parties will come away feeling they have a good deal which is, essentially, what counts."
The settlement amount closely reflects discussions the couple had at a Financial Dispute Resolution in October of last year.
Sources on both sides said the couple have now agreed all the details of the settlement "in principle".
Since Miss Mills currently has no legal representation, the couple are expected to spend much of next week having all aspects of the complex deal examined and approved in a closed hearing before High Court judge Mr Justice Bennett.
A legal source said: "It should take a couple of days. Unless new variables emerge, it should be quite straightforward."
The couple still have another 13 weeks under the two-year separation period required for a no-fault divorce before it becomes final, but it is understood that both parties are pushing for it to be finalised next week.
The details of the settlement may never officially become public. A source close to the couple said: "Paul has always argued that for Bea's sake as much as anything, her parents should not be seen to be trawling over the break-up publicly for years to come."
Miss Mills - who made a number of emotional TV outbursts last year including a rant on GMTV in which she said she had been close to suicide - had initially resisted being "gagged" on the subject of the marriage.
Another stumbling block had been Sir Paul's resistance to pay for her security arrangements, said the source.
As the Mail reported in January, after months of acrimony, Sir Paul made moves to resolve the dispute amicably.
His legal team at Paynes Hicks Beach contacted Miss Mills with the message that "Paul's ready to talk".
In recent weeks, the pair have spoken three or four times over the phone in an attempt to move towards an agreement. Respective spokesmen for Sir Paul and Miss Mills would not comment yesterday.
Heather's £55m deal: Sir Paul ready to buy her silence with a record pay-off | the Daily Mail
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