Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey Divide Assets in Divorce  9/7/06

Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson have finally divided up the assets from their marriage after the pop hunk agreed to less than his share in order to avoid an ugly court battle.

The couple amassed an estimated $36 million fortune during their three-year marriage, due in large part to the success of MTV reality show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica and endorsement deals.

Under California law, the assets are to be divided equally, which would award each of them $18 million.

Simpson had initially offered Lachey $1.5 million to walk away from the marriage, reportedly at her father Joe's request.

Lachey rejected the offer and according to news website TMZ, he has now agreed to a new settlement amount, which has not been disclosed.

Sources say Lachey will take significantly more than the $1.5 million, but considerably less than half of what he and Jessica earned during the course of their marriage.

Two sources close to Lachey say that he agreed to end the dispute because he doesn't want to hurt anyone in a contentious court battle.