Scott Hassan may not be a household name, but he’s one of the founders of Google. Now that he’s getting a divorce from his wife, Allison Huynh, there’s a lot of legal debate over who gets what. The couple owns multiple properties, and now it’s up to the courts to figure out how those properties will be awarded. It’s not just the properties, either, but the investments that Hassan and Huynh have together. All in all, those items are worth billions. Naturally, the couple can’t agree on how to divide them.

They’ve been in a legal battle over the properties and investments for a while now, and Huynh has made claims that she was the one supporting the family in their early days. They married in 2001, and she states that Hassan was $60,000 in debt at that time. Hassan refutes this. He also owns over 160,000 shares of Google. Shortly after it went public, he offered his wife fewer than 10% of the shares, and part of their rental properties, on the condition that she waive future marital asset claims. She refused the deal.

Huynh and her children are currently living in the family’s 7,500 square foot home in Palo Alto, California, valued at $20 million. Allegedly, Hassan sent a text message to Huynh in 2013, saying he was ending their marriage and moving out. They have been separated since the beginning of 2015, and arguing over their estate the entire time.

In May 2020, they were officially divorced. However, the details of how to divide their estate remain. They have joint custody of their children. Since California law states that assets acquired during a marriage are equally divided it should be easy to solve the issues, but the level of complexity in the couple’s financial life means a judge’s ruling will be needed to sort it all out.

As life events occur, including a birth, death, marriage, or divorce, it’s important to update your Will or Trust and your beneficiary designations. To learn more and for help creating a plan that incorporates all of your assets and reflects your wishes, contact us today!