May 4, 2021 "Bill and Melinda Gates already decided how to divide wealth: 'Divorce is not something to waste money on'": Today I found this article by Alexis Keenan on Yahoo news:
Billionaire Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, announced on Monday that they would end their 27-year marriage, likely fueling speculation about how the high-profile divorce will play out.
Family lawyer Randy Kessler, who has handled divorce cases involving professional athletes and entertainers, accurately predicted what court documents show — that the Gates worked out in advance how to separate their estimated $130 billion in net worth.
A petition for dissolution of marriage that Melinda Gates filed on Monday noted that, while the couple did not have a prenuptial agreement, they did have a separation agreement. The petition simply asks the court to divide the property as laid out in that agreement and does not ask for ongoing spousal support.
“My guess is they're going to work this out very privately, and that they will both be very comfortable with the way it turns out.” Kessler said. “I cannot imagine that she won't be happy or he won't be happy, financially.”
According to the petition filed in Washington state’s King County Superior court on Monday afternoon, Melinda Gates, 56, filed for the divorce stating, “This marriage is irretrievably broken. We ask the court to dissolve our marriage and find that our marital community ended on the date stated in our separation contract.”
Bill Gates is represented in the divorce by lawyers at Munger Tolles & Olson, which was originally co-founded by Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) Vice Chairman Charlie Munger. Lawyers at Paul Weiss are representing Melinda Gates.
“If it was about the money,” Kessler said, “they’d stay married.”
“People that have extraordinary wealth, have it for a reason,” Kessler added. “They know what not to waste money on, and what not to be in the press about. Divorce is not something to waste money on.”
Melinda and Bill Gates each posted to their Twitter accounts on Monday a statement about their decision.
In addition to the couple’s wealth gained through Microsoft's empire, the couple will also need to decide on the future of their philanthropic entity Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Prior to the divorce filing, the Gates had transferred $20 billion of Microsoft stock to the non-profit.
“I think it's going to remain as it is,” Kessler predicted about the enterprise that focuses on global health and poverty initiatives. “It's a testament to them if they can get divorced and still be working together on that...never underestimate Bill or Melinda Gates, right?”
Because the foundation is not an asset that either Gates needs to be able to pay their bills, Kessler said, it shouldn’t present a challenge, financially. To add, he said, the foundation's management team will likely play the most important role for its future. Currently, Bill and Melinda Gates serve as foundation co-chairs.
“It’s more of an image thing,” he said. “I think the focus will be on not changing that image. They don't want their contributors or donors to worry that there's going to be anything different than it was.”
May 5, 2021 "Divorce is usually caused by the 3 'i's": Today I found this article by Canela Lopez on Yahoo news:
Bill and Melinda Gates announced on Monday that they would divorce.
Insider spoke to attorneys and relationship therapists about the main reasons couples get divorced.
One therapist said it comes down to incompatibility, infidelity, and irreconcilable differences.
Bill and Melinda Gates announced on Monday that they would divorce, mutually tweeting that they were ending their 27-year marriage.
Melinda Gates' petition for divorce called their marriage "irretrievably broken."
Tess Brigham, a therapist, told Insider that over such a long marriage, tension can build up in one of three main relationship categories, or the three I's: incompatibility, infidelity, and irreconcilable differences.
Here's how the three I's can affect a couple over their marriage, according to therapists and attorneys.
Incompatibility in living, spending, and romantic habits can build resentment over time
Brigham said some of the most common incompatibilities that lead to divorce are politics and religion.
Marilyn Chinitz, Tom Cruise's divorce attorney, disagreed.
"For most people, money is the No. 1 reason why people get divorced," Chinitz told Insider.
While having different opinions isn't necessarily a deal-breaker, an inability to compromise and talk about those differences is a huge problem, Brigham said.
"While someone might say, 'We couldn't agree on money,' what that really means is 'We fought all the time about money, my partner never listened to me, they spent money behind my back without telling me,'" she said.
"Another couple might have different beliefs about money, but if they can speak to each other respectively and hear each other's point of view, then they're not going to break up over it."
Infidelity can permanently break trust
Kari Lichtenstein, a founding partner of Stutman Stutman Lichtenstein & Felder, told Insider that infidelity is one of the main reasons people file for divorce.
Infidelity occurs when one or both partners are intimate with another person outside of their vows, Brigham told Insider.
Infidelity can lead to lasting trust issues in a marriage that can ultimately make the relationship crumble.
Irreconcilable differences like goals and parenting styles are discussed too late in a relationship, experts say
It's natural for couples to grow and change over their marriage, but the difference between a successful marriage and a failing one is whether couples grow together or apart, Brigham said.
A relationship can deteriorate in the early years of marriage if a couple has different opinions on having children and how to raise them, she said.
Michael Stutman, also a founding partner of Stutman Stutman Lichtenstein & Felder, told Insider that differences in how a couple views their individual and joint futures could come up after their children have left the house.
"Even if a couple makes it through the child-raising years, when faced with an empty nest they can easily get to the point where the Gateses found themselves, where the relationship has run its course and they want something more," Stutman said.
Read the original article on Insider
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