newspaper, the couple will have their decree nisi posted at the High Court in London on Friday (Saturday NZ time).
Once the judgehas granted the couple a preliminary divorce decree, their split will be finalised in about six weeks.
Several news reports say the singer and film director reached a private agreement on splitting their wealth as well as custody of their children.
Most interesting of all, word has it that Madge will also hold on to her estimated £300 million fortune.
Ritchie, who is believed to be worth at least £30 million himself, was entitled under English divorce law to get his mitts on at least half of Madge's fortune. But Mr. Madonna doesn't want a sniff of it.
The biggest bone of contention between the pair during the divorce deliberations has been over where their kids will live.
last month, news emerged that Madonna was keen to uproot herself and her brood to New York - a move which reportedly enraged her estranged husband. Ritchie, a Cockney geezer if ever there was one, was adamant that the kids be based and educated in London.
But it appears as though the pair has overcome that particular stumbling block, and reached an agreement about where the kids will live.
Two sons, Rocco, 8, and adopted David, three, will divide their time between homes in London and America. Lourdes, 12, will live with Madonna in New York.
A snitch close to the couple said: "It will all be over by the end of the month. Ritchie has done exactly what Billie Piper did when she divorced Chris Evans. She walked away without any of his money, much to her credit. He has done the same."
for the first time? This one will come as a surprise to many, because unlike others of her generation, she does not have a reputation for being a party girl. However, her addiction to prescription drugs has escalated beyond control. She has disappeared for days at a time, returned home with mysterious bruises, and bailed from auditions and meetings at the last minute. She finally and reluctantly agreed to go to rehab when she was caught stealing a prescription pad from her doctor’s office.
