MacKenzie Scottis one of the wealthiest women in the world — with a net worth of $20.6 billion as of Wednesday, according toBloomberg Billionaires Index.
The 52-year-oldfinalized her divorcefrom Seattle school teacherDan Jewetton Monday, just four months after she filed and nearly two years after the former couple wed in California.
Family law attorney David Glass, who viewed the Sept. 2022 divorce filing, spoke to PEOPLE at the time about what’s at stake in a billionaire’s divorce and why a separation contract was used in Scott and Jewett’s case.
“A separation contract under Washington law is when you say to your spouse, ‘We’re going to get divorced and we can work out all the details ourselves. Let’s write it up in an agreement and we’ll just notify the court that we’ve figured everything out,’ " Glass said. “And so that’s what they did here.”
Washington State law allows divorcing couples to keep a separation agreement “completely private,” added Glass, who did not represent either party.
Dan Jewett/FaceBook; Michael Kovac/Getty
“They each had their lawyers, they figured out who’s keeping what real estate, who’s keeping what assets. They decided that there wouldn’t be any sort of spousal support, and because they don’t have any children [together], they didn’t have to get into the issue of custody,” he continued. “And so you basically inform the court in Washington State, ‘We have a separation agreement, we don’t need you for anything other than to issue the divorce decree.’ "
Because the state’s laws allow for separation agreements to be kept private, Glass said that “no one will ever know” how exactly Scott and Jewett separated their assets beyond the couple themselves and their attorneys, unless they choose to disclose that information.
As Glass told PEOPLE, page three of Scott’s divorce petition contains a consent form from Jewett agreeing to the filing in its entirety, which Glass said will likely helped the divorce process happen quickly and smoothly.
“So he signed off saying, ‘I agree to all this. Please just have [us] divorced,’ " Glass told PEOPLE. “So there won’t be any trials, there won’t be any court appearances, and there likely won’t be any other papers filed with the court until the court issues the one piece of paper that says you’re now divorced and you’re each single.”
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Though it appeared Scott and Jewett’s divorce was amicable, Glass said, “it’s hard to predict how long the court will take before it issues that divorce decree.”
With the divorce official as of Monday, according to the documents PEOPLE reviewed, Scott and Jewett’s only took about four months.
Dan Jewett and MacKenzie Scott.the giving pledge
For contrast, Glass noted that California state law says divorcing couples have to wait six months for a divorce decree even under similar circumstances.
Scott sharesfour childrenwith Bezos, 58. The two were married for 25 years before theyannounced their split in 2019.
Since her divorce from Bezos, Scott has spoken about her goal of giving away vast amounts of her wealth.
In September, she gifted her Beverly Hills estate, worth $55 million, to support the nonprofitCalifornia Community Foundation, and their affordable housing grantmaking and immigrant integration program. In March, Scott donated$436 millionto Habitat for Humanity.
Scott hasdonated nearly $2 billion to over 300 organizationsin the past seven months, she announced in November as her divorce was pending.
Previously, the philanthropist donated$2.7 billionto 286 underfunded organizations that fight against wealth inequality. And in December 2020, Scott and a “team of advisors” donated $4.2 billion to organizations across the U.S. that helped with relief during theCOVID-19pandemic.
As theWashington Postreported, Scott and Jewett first met at her children’s school.
source: people.com
