Divorce Tool Box Divorce Coaches Offer Advice as Facebook Makes News for Both Divorce and Marriage

Even though it was widely reported in 2011 that Facebook was responsible for one-fifth of all U.S. divorces, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg made sure that if his recent marriage ends up in divorce, his $20 billion fortune is protected. According to divorce lawyers as reported in New York Daily News, he cleverly timed Facebook’s IPO to be 24 hours before saying his “I Do’s” to college sweetheart Priscilla Chan, dramatically lessening Chan’s share in any future divorce settlement from the world’s 26th –richest man.

Manhattan divorce lawyer Bonnie Rabin said, “If they married the day before [the social media powerhouse went public on May 18th], it would have made a huge difference.” That’s because if the marriage dissolves, Zuckerberg’s holdings in Facebook will now be viewed as “separate property” since his billions were minted before he took the plunge. Divorce attorney Alton Abramowitz added that after the ceremony, if Zuckerberg’s 533 million shares soar in value, Chan could be entitled to some of the runup. Then again, much would depend on details of the prenuptial agreement—if there is one. California divorce lawyer Peter Walzer says, “Somebody with that wealth, I would be very surprised if he didn’t have a prenup, although he is quirky, and when it comes to love, not everybody has guts.”

Chan, 27, now a medical student, has been 28-year-old Zuckerberg’s girlfriend since they met at Harvard nine years ago, so there’s no reason to expect disaster in their marriage. Even so, as the saying goes “timing is everything,” and that one day’s difference between his company’s initial public offering and his wedding, likely saved him billions if “for better or worse” ever leads to divorce.