Bill, Melinda Gates Divorce: Kids Could Inherit More Than $10 Million

As Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates declared their divorce, several people wondered how much they would get from each other.

However, the other three family members seemed to have been overlooked.

According to a divorce expert, Melinda's divorce filing contains a significant hint about the possibility of changing their children's inheritance money. That's despite Bill Gates' repeated his claim that he would only leave them $10 million each per Fox News.

Bill Gates, who is worth $130 million, has previously stated that his three children, Jennifer, 25, Rory, 21, and Phoebe, 18, will only receive a small portion of his vast fortune.

"I definitely think leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favor to them," he said in a Reddit talk per HuffPost.

However, Bill Gates clarified his decision to leave only a small portion of his fortune to his children. "It will be a minuscule portion of my wealth. It will mean they have to find their own way," he told an online tabloid.

Most of the world's fourth billionaire's wealth will be donated to charity, according to reports.

In her divorce filing, the mother-of-three is said to have taken the rare step of appointing top trust and estate attorneys as her representatives.

According to high-profile divorce lawyers Harriet Newman Cohen and Martha Cohen Stine, Melinda French Gates have well-known trust and estate attorneys in her case. But Page Six said it's "most unusual" for trust and estate lawyers' names to be included on a divorce filing.

Melinda's decision indicates that she has ambitions for her family that are unrelated to Microsoft's founder.

Newman Cohen further explained the Gates children's inheritance. The expert said Melinda could give more than $10 million to each of her children now that she has the control.

According to Newman Cohen, leaving a fraction of the money to each of the three children is "tantamount to disinheriting the children."

Newman Cohen also mentioned that they see divorces as being motivated by the mother's need to defend her children. Melinda, according to the expert, might be acting like any other mother trying to protect her kids.

Melinda French Gates claimed in her divorce filing that a separation agreement is in effect. Still, insiders revealed that the billionaire couple's inheritance was not included in it, which meant that either of them could alter the sum their children would inherit.

Inheritance is not normally discussed in such arrangements, according to the same Page Six report.

Melinda Gates not only made a power change after her divorce by adjusting her children's inheritance, but she also paved the way for female empowerment.

Melinda's decision to leave her husband – as a petitioner – doesn't seem like a coincidence given that her youngest child turned 18, legal experts said.

Although Newman Cohen and Cohen Stine are not involved in the Gates' divorce, their clients include A-list and prominent individuals such as Harvey and Bob Weinstein's ex-wives, Howard Stern's ex-wife, and Louis C.K.'s former wife.