• MacKenzie Scott’s divorce is not likely to have a major affect on her $28 billion fortune.
• Lawful gurus agree that Scott most likely had a prenuptial agreement that shields her Amazon stake. 
• Scott and her next spouse, Dan Jewett, are divorcing immediately after significantly less than two decades jointly. 

MacKenzie Scott’s divorce is unlikely to effects her multibillion-dollar charitable providing, gurus say.

Scott filed for divorce from her 2nd husband, Dan Jewett, on Monday. The few has been married for much less than two several years and had embarked on a philanthropic mission with each other, but not too long ago, mentions of Jewett experienced disappeared from Scott’s posts and online profiles. On Wednesday, The New York Periods broke the information that they’re splitting up. 

Scott was beforehand married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and their divorce left her with a 3% stake in the e-commerce large, a stake that has made her the world’s 40th-richest man or woman. 

But authorized authorities advised Insider that Scott’s 2nd divorce will possible be vastly diverse from the first time close to and will pretty much certainly depart the majority of her $28 billion fortune untouched. 

‘Shocked’ if there is no prenuptial arrangement

When Scott’s divorce from Bezos was finalized in 2019, she walked absent with hundreds of thousands of Amazon shares well worth, at that time, approximately $38 billion. Though she’s been doing the job to offload her immense wealth since then, she nonetheless entered the marriage to Jewett with assets that considerably outpaced most people today on the planet, including her second partner.

To that finish, it really is almost particular that the pair signed a prenuptial agreement, in accordance to Eleanor Change, a partner at New York legislation agency Change, Wolff, & Foley who has handled significant-profile divorce cases. 

“It really is feasible they failed to have a prenuptial arrangement, but I’d be shocked,” she reported.

Jennifer Brandt, chair of the family members legislation team at Pennsylvania law business Cozen O’Connor, agreed: “In most conditions when you have superior internet well worth people, they do want to get, and are suggested to get, a prenuptial settlement.” 

Brandt mentioned that prenups are especially popular in scenarios where by an individual has been married ahead of or will come into the marriage with significant wealth, which are both factors that utilize to Scott.

Few already agreed to a contract that divides their property

Though Scott’s divorce petition isn’t going to point out a prenup, it does say that the couple signed a separation arrangement, an interim agreement that sets some principles for the interval of separation ahead of a few is divorced. Over and above divvying up a couple’s finances, it can involve troubles like kid or spousal support, though neither request was included in the divorce petition. 

“It could even dictate use of specific assets or use of qualities,” Brandt mentioned. “If you have multiple attributes, it could dictate the place people stay or what attributes they may well be applying all through an intervening time period before the property are dispersed and possibly who pays for them.” 

Oftentimes, all those types of agreements are incorporated in a prenup, in accordance to Alter.

“A lot of prenuptial agreements supply that if you get divorced, this is the separation settlement. So there is certainly no variance, you will find nothing to negotiate,” she mentioned. “The phrases of the prenuptial agreement come to be the terms of the separation arrangement. In a shorter relationship, that’s possible.”

When Scott’s petition is publicly available, the separation settlement is sealed. Terry Value, a loved ones regulation professor at the College of Washington, instructed GeekWire that information of that agreement “will under no circumstances see the light-weight of day.” Scott and Jewett have not commented publicly on their divorce plans.

The divorce will very likely be finalized quickly

Washington, wherever they are living, is a community-house state, indicating that the property a few acquires although they’re married belong to both of them and as a result will be divided equitably. But if a single man or woman comes to the marriage with home of their possess, they are not expected to break up that with their spouse in the party of a divorce, according to state law. 

Which usually means that Scott’s wealth — and her options to donate at least 50 % of it for the duration of her lifetime, which she’s carrying out quicker than any other living individual, according to Puck — very likely will not likely be noticeably impacted by the divorce.

Change pointed out that divorce might have an effect on Scott’s tax scenario, as married men and women can give more money absent without shelling out taxes, but specified the scale of Scott’s donations and the equipment that is probable powering it, it’s unclear how her taxes will be influenced, if at all. 

Both way, the professionals concur that Scott and Jewett will probable force for the divorce to turn out to be finalized as quickly and quietly as probable. Washington regulation suggests that the petition have to be submitted and served to the other partner for at minimum 90 days before a decide will dissolve a relationship. Alter approximated that, presented the probability of a prenup and the brevity of the marriage, Scott’s divorce will acquire “a couple of months, at most” to total.