First, the news broke that billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon
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founder Jeff Bezos, was divorcing her second husband, Dan Jewett, a former science teacher, after less than two years of marriage. Then came the news that Perry Greene, the husband of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican Georgia congresswoman, was seeking a divorce after 27 years of marriage.
Both cases were filed in states with very different divorce laws and, unlike the Greenes, Scott brought billions of dollars into her life with Jewett. But they have one important thing in common: Scott and Greene have avoided airing any dirty laundry and, in their divorce filings at least, their splits remain cordial. There’s a clear reference to a “separation contract” between Scott and Jewett, according to the King County, Wash., Superior Court divorce petition. Scott is now worth $33.9 billion following her 2019 divorce from Bezos, according to Forbes. Washington state law explains a “separation contract,” among other things, can discuss “the disposition of any property owned by both or either” of the spouses. Washington is one of the few remaining “community property” states where assets acquired before the marriage are deemed separate property, and assets acquired during the marriage are regarded as “marital” or “community property.”
“MacKenzie Scott’s divorce papers were filed in Washington state, while Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s papers were filed in Georgia. Those states have very different divorce laws.”
Georgia — where the Greenes filed for divorce — is an “equitable-distribution state,” meaning assets are divided equitably, if not equally, depending on a number of factors, including the conduct of the spouses during the marriage, assets/debts, earning capacity and retire …