What legal records exist from the 1975 divorce between Jill Biden and Bill Stevenson?
Executive summary
Public reporting establishes that Jill Biden and William (Bill) Stevenson divorced in 1975 and that the split involved civil proceedings in which Jill sought a share of Mr. Stevenson’s bar business; the specific court documents themselves are not reproduced in the coverage provided and their present location or public availability is not detailed in the sources [1] [2] [3].
1. What the reporting actually documents: a civil divorce granted in May 1975
Multiple contemporary news profiles and biographical summaries state that a civil divorce between Jill Biden and Bill Stevenson was granted in May 1975, and that the marriage had effectively ended after a separation in 1974 [1] [2] [4]. These accounts repeat the basic legal outcome—divorce granted in 1975—but do not reproduce the divorce decree, docket entries, transcripts, filings or the county court identifier in which those papers were lodged [1] [2].
2. The contested asset claim reported in multiple summaries
The reporting also notes litigation or claims tied to ownership of The Stone Balloon, the Newark, Delaware bar Mr. Stevenson owned; Jill Biden is reported to have petitioned for a half-share in the business during the divorce, and sources say that the court case ended without her being awarded that ownership [2] [3]. Those descriptions appear in biographies and later profiles and are presented as summaries of the divorce-era legal dispute rather than as verbatim court filings or published judgments reproduced in the articles [2] [3].
3. What is not shown in the reporting: the primary legal records themselves
None of the provided sources links to or quotes the original divorce decree, the formal complaint or petition, property settlement agreement, court minutes, or any certified docket entry from 1975; the accounts are secondary summaries [1] [2] [4]. Because the articles do not reproduce the primary court paperwork, they cannot confirm details such as the precise terms of any settlement, whether spousal support was ordered, or the exact legal basis for denying the Stone Balloon claim—facts that would appear in the original filings or a written judgment [2] [3].
4. Conflicting framing, motivations and reporting gaps
Some later interviews and memoir-like accounts from Mr. Stevenson and commentary around the couple’s history have produced differing versions of events—Mr. Stevenson has at times questioned widely told narratives while a spokesman for Jill Biden has called certain claims “fictitious” when they appeared to contradict her account—highlighting how personal memoirs and publicity can skew recollection of legal facts if not tied to court records [2]. The recent renewed reporting grew out of a criminal indictment against Mr. Stevenson in 2026 and therefore carries an attention-grabbing frame that emphasizes the connection to the former first lady rather than archival legal-document research, a dynamic that can leave archival civil-court records unexamined in news stories [4] [5].
5. Where those records would normally reside and what the reporting implies
Divorce decrees and related civil filings from 1975 would typically be filed in the county court clerk’s office where the divorce was litigated—given the parties’ Delaware residence and the bar’s Newark location, that would most likely be a New Castle County or Newark-area civil court archive—but the reviewed articles do not cite a clerk’s office reference, case number, or provide scanned documents to confirm that provenance [1] [4]. Journalistic summaries thus establish the occurrence and some disputed claims from the divorce but stop short of producing or citing primary legal records.
Conclusion
The assembled reporting consistently reports a civil divorce granted in May 1975 and mentions a contested claim by Jill Biden for a half-share of The Stone Balloon that was not ultimately awarded, but the primary court documents, decrees, or dockets from the 1975 proceedings are not reproduced or directly cited in these sources, and the articles do not specify where those records can be accessed [1] [2] [3]. To verify precise legal terms, settlement language, or rulings, consultation of New Castle County or Delaware civil court archives or certified court copies would be necessary—an avenue the cited reporting does not document [4].