Bill and Melinda Gates have no prenup.
With nearly $150 billion at stake, they will split their property according to a 'separation contract' they've agreed to instead.
Bill and Melinda Gates don't have a prenuptial agreement, but they do have a "separation contract" that stipulates how they will split their property when they separate, TMZ first reported Monday.
The philanthropist couple announced Monday that they were getting divorced after 27 years of marriage.
Bill Gates, who cofounded Microsoft and owns 1% of the tech company, is worth an estimated $146 billion, according to Bloomberg. This places him fourth on Bloomberg's list of the world's wealthiest people. The divorce settlement could be one of the largest ever.
A section in the Gateses' divorce filings asked whether the couple had signed a prenup, separation contract, or community property agreement.
The couple said they had a separation contract, which they wanted the court to enforce, but did not say that they had a prenup.
A prenup is a legal agreement that couples can sign before marriage. It establishes what will happen with a couple's assets if they divorce or one of them dies, and it can also set financial expectations for a marriage.
A separation agreement, or contract, is a private legal document signed by a couple when they want to spend time apart and live separately. It lists their rights and obligations, such as child support and custody, and is signed without involving the court.
Sometimes a separation contract is followed by a divorce, but some couples use it as an opportunity to repair their marriage, according to the New York City Bar.
In the divorce filings, the couple asked for their real property, personal property, and debts to be split according to their separation contract. Melinda Gates did not ask for spousal support.
The couple also said their marriage was "irretrievably broken" and asked for the court to end their marriage on the date stated in their separation contract, though this date was not provided in the divorce filings.
The documents, filed Monday in King County in Washington state, list Melinda Gates as the petitioner and Bill Gates as the respondent. The filings include a trial date of April 4, 2022.
The settlement from the Gates' divorce could be one of the largest ever, Insider's Katie Canales reported. When Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, split up in 2019, their settlement was $38 billion, making MacKenzie Scott the world's third-wealthiest woman.
