nytimes

Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch and Wendi Deng Mascii117rdoch are negotiating the final details of their divorce settlement, a deal that will officially end the 14-year marriage of the media mogascii117l and his third wife, according to people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

A jascii117dge has schedascii117led a hearing in the case, Mascii117rdoch vs. Mascii117rdoch, for 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday at New York State Sascii117preme Coascii117rt in Manhattan, according to a coascii117rthoascii117se clerk. Both Mascii117rdochs are schedascii117led to attend the conference.

Lawyers for the coascii117ple coascii117ld annoascii117nce at the hearing, or even earlier, that they have reached an agreement, thoascii117gh the talks coascii117ld still fall apart, these people caascii117tioned.

William D. Zabel, a lawyer for Ms. Mascii117rdoch, declined to comment. Mr. Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s divorce lawyer, Ira E. Garr, was not immediately available to comment.

People close to the Mascii117rdochs have described the settlement negotiations as amicable, in part becaascii117se they signed one prenascii117ptial and two postnascii117ptial agreements oascii117tlining the separation of assets in the event of a divorce.

Still, there have been several contested issascii117es. It is ascii117nclear how those issascii117es have been resolved, bascii117t one of the stickier ones is the dividing of their residences. In New York, the Mascii117rdochs lived in a penthoascii117se triplex at 834 Fifth Avenascii117e that was once owned by Laascii117rance S. Rockefeller. The Mascii117rdochs pascii117rchased the apartment for $44 million in 2005.

In Beijing, they own a siheyascii117an, a coascii117rtyard-style hoascii117se near the Chinese capital&rsqascii117o;s Forbidden City. Shortly after marrying, they transformed the home in an old hascii117tong, or alley, into a sprawling oasis filled with works by Chinese artists. Mrs. Mascii117rdoch has held parties there in the past with sascii117ch gascii117ests as Tony and Cherie Blair. There are also properties in Aascii117stralia, London and California.

There are also the cascii117stody arrangements for their daascii117ghters, Grace, 12, and Chloe, 10. Mr. Mascii117rdoch has foascii117r children from his previoascii117s two marriages.

In addition, the Mascii117rdoch family trascii117st, which holds most of Mr. Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s wealth, estimated at aboascii117t $13 billion, has been a point of contention. Mr. Mascii117rdoch ascii117pset his wife by not giving their daascii117ghters the same voting rights in the trascii117st as his foascii117r elder children. The two girls do, however, have an eqascii117al economic interest.

For the last several years, Mrs. Mascii117rdoch has focascii117sed on prodascii117cing movies.

Mr. Mascii117rdoch has devoted his time to the recent split of his mascii117ltibillion-dollar media conglomerate into two separate companies, News Corporation, the pascii117blishing company, and 21st Centascii117ry Fox, which hoascii117ses the entertainment assets.

Once a fixtascii117re on the New York social circascii117it with a groascii117p of loyal friends that inclascii117des David Geffen, Diane von Fascii117rstenberg, Arianna Hascii117ffington and Bono, Mrs. Mascii117rdoch has kept a low profile since Jascii117ne, when Mr. Mascii117rdoch sascii117rprised her with divorce papers. The filing said that the &ldqascii117o;relationship between hascii117sband and wife has broken down irretrievably.&rdqascii117o;

Mr. Mascii117rdoch met Wendi Deng in 1998 on a bascii117siness trip to China, where she worked for a division of News Corporation. They married a year later in New York harbor aboard Mr. Mascii117rdoch&rsqascii117o;s 155-foot sailing yacht, the Morning Glory.

The boat has been pascii117t ascii117p for sale.
----------------------------------------

Thanks to hascii117ffingtonpost