Is Madonna going back to New York?

It appears that Madonna's impending divorce from Guy Ritchie may lead her to move back to America. According to a report in the London Evening Standard, the main bone of contention in the settlement is where the couple's two children - Rocco and adopted David Banda - will live and be educated. The singer is reportedly determined that they both should go back to the US. However, Ritchie is not going to give up without a fight and has hired Stephen Cobb QC, a barrister who specialises in international divorce cases in which the country of residence of the children is in dispute.

Cobb, who is ranked by Chambers and Partners, the legal directory, as the best barrister in the country in children's law, will certainly have his work cut out. The issue of where the children live is particularly complicated. Madonna cannot take the children to live with her permanently in the US unless she either gets permission from Ritchie or an English court grants her leave to remove the children.

It is understood that Cobb was brought on to the case by Ritchie's divorce lawyer, Lady Ward. Together they are a formidable team. Madonna is being represented by Fiona Shackleton, who acted for Prince Charles and Sir Paul McCartney in their divorces. It is thought Shackleton has brought in Nicholas Mostyn QC, the barrister who demolished Heather Mills in court during her divorce from Sir Paul. However, it is believed that Ritchie and Madonna will settle their dispute at a mediation hearing and before it reaches court, not least because they will be reluctant to endure the public scrutiny that McCartney and Mills underwent. That said, a friend of the singer claims that the two sides are still "miles apart" and that a settlement is some way off. ·