Wife prepares for ruling on ?48m divorce settlement

The ex-wife of an insurance mogul is to learn whether or not she will be allowed to keep her £48 million financial settlement.

John Charman, head of the Axa insurance group, divorced his wife Beverly in 2005 in a case which saw the most expensive divorce settlement in British legal history, the Associated Press reports.

However, Mr Charman has disputed the sum awarded to his ex-wife, calling it "grotesque and unfair" and has gone to the court of appeal with the case in the hope that he will have the ruling turned around.

His lawyers have argued that the family's assets, assessed at £131 million, should not have been equally divided between the former spouses because the majority of it was earned by Mr Charman.

Moreover, they have suggested that a £70 million family trust should not have been taken into account, and that the former Mrs Charman should have been awarded no more than £20 million.

The court will hear the appeal judges' decision today (May 24th).