KEY POINTS

  • A judge signed Bill and Melinda Gates' divorce papers on Monday
  • The former couple agreed that neither would pay the other any spousal support
  • Melinda does not plan to change her name following their divorce

Bill Gates and Melinda Gates are officially divorced three months after they announced that they were separating.

A judge formally signed their divorce papers on Monday. Initially, many thought their divorce would take years because of the $148 billion fortune at stake. But it was not the case.

Part of their divorce agreement was that neither party will pay the other any spousal support, based on the court documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight. Other details of their divorce agreement were not disclosed to the public.

Melinda does not plan to change her name following their divorce. The couple announced their separation in May after being married for 27 years. The couple tied the knot in January 1994. They share three children together, 25-year-old Jennifer, 22-year-old Rory and 18-year-old Phoebe.

"After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," the pair said in a joint statement at the time. "Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives."

"We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives," the statement continued. "We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life."

Bill and Melinda had a separation contract. They asked the court to divide their debts and liabilities, real property and personal property as stipulated in their separation contract.

U.K. lawyer Ayesha Vardag, who became popular for representing German paper industry heiress Katrin Radmacher in her divorce from investment banker Nicolas Granatino, wondered about the couple's split.

"Why are they splitting when they have so much money, they could practically arrange never to see each other again? That is the big question," Vardag told the outlet. "It’s interesting, it makes you wonder if there is something else going on — like a reputational storm coming."

An unnamed source previously told People that their split wasn't shocking at all. Their marriage had allegedly been on the rocks long before they called it quits.

"It's many years of differing views of the world, the foundation, and of life in general, and those things piling up. They are older and each personally looked at life and asked, 'Is there more out there than what I have?'" the source said.

Melinda and Bill Gates are seen at the Congress Center during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos in 2015
Melinda and Bill Gates are seen at the Congress Center during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos in 2015 AFP / Fabrice COFFRINI