Madonna Consults Top UK Lawyer re Possible Divorce

The seven-year itch has apparently struck pop singer Madonna, who is reportedly consulting with a top United Kingdom matrimonial lawyer for legal advice about a possible divorce from her husband of seven years, Guy Ritchie, 39.

Attorney Fiona Shackleton, 52, who successfully represented ex-Beatle Paul McCartney in his divorce from Heather Mills—and famously emerged from the final court hearing with damped-down hair after Mills "in fury and frustration" doused her with a glass of water—is now following up that "spectacularly well-handled split" with discussions with the 49-year-old singer, writes the London Times.

Under Shackleton's representation, McCartney kept all but about $48 million of his $1.64 billion fortune. While Madonna is worth less—an estimated $600 million—much of her money is at stake: she apparently doesn't have a prenuptial agreement with Ritchie limiting her potential payout in a divorce, the newspaper notes.

A representative of the singer declined to say whether she plans to divorce and, even if she does, the matter might be quickly resolved:

“These big money divorces are either terribly straightforward, because there is enough money to give those involved a fair share—more so than where there is not much money—or they go to court, because one side is either mean or greedy,” says family law partner James Stewart of the Manches firm in London.