Melinda Gates won’t change her name after her divorce and doesn't need spousal support, court docs reveal
MELINDA Gates will not change her name after divorcing her husband and Microsoft co-founder Bill, court documents show.
The philanthropist, 56, filed the divorce petition on Monday as she branded their marriage "irretrievably broken".
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It seems that Melinda will not change her surname once the divorce has been finalized, according to court documents.
The divorce petition also reveals that she is not seeking any spousal support from the software developer who's said to be worth around $124billion.
It appears that Melinda has requested for the pair’s assets and liabilities to be divided equally.
The power couple look set to battle each other for a share of their fortune after the divorce announcement on Monday.
They had previously pledged to give most of the fortune away but it could be one of the costliest divorces in history.
The pair announced their divorce after 27 years of marriage in a joint statement on Monday.
Gates shared the news in a tweet where he said they decided to "end our marriage" after a "great deal of thought and a lot of work."
He noted that they had raised "three incredible children" and worked to help people all over the world with their philanthropy work.
The Microsoft founder wrote: "We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives."
"We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life," he concluded. Melinda tweeted an identical statement to her account.
The couple's divorce documents also revealed that there appears to be no prenup agreement.
It's understood that they will split their property according to a separation contract.
This is despite rumors existing that the couple signed a prenup before tying the knot in Lanai, Hawaii in 1994.
“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.” lawyer Randy Kessler told Yahoo.
The separation contract hasn't been made public and their split will be the largest division of marital assets since Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife MacKenzie divorced in mid 2019, making her the richest woman in the world.
Gates is the fourth richest person, behind Bezos, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and French businessman Bernard Arnault.
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