Spousal support is hard to pay and hard to try to live on, except maybe if both ex-spouses are multimillionaires. Even though “hardship” does not seem to be a word that applies in that case, when spousal support is being paid in the millions, there is plenty for the parties to fight over.
That is the situation for the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball club, and his ex-wife, who he fired as the CEO of the Dodgers organization shortly before their divorce. When the divorce proceedings were still in their early days, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt was ordered to pay $225,000 per month in temporary spousal support, plus an additional $400,000 a month to maintain six houses and a condominium.
Frank McCourt has said in his motion to reduce spousal support that he only makes around $5 million a year, and that his support should be calculated according to that income. He has paid $2.7 million in support in the last year, plus around $5 million to cover the mortgages for the homes. He says that Jamie McCourt should pay the mortgages, or the homes should be sold.
Pittsburgh divorce lawyers have noted that the news reports of the conflict say that Jamie McCourt has argued that Frank has depleted the value of the most valuable marital asset, the Los Angeles Dodgers. She seems to be arguing that if he had not depleted the club’s value, he would be able to keep up the current support amount, and that she should not be punished for Frank’s making bad financial moves that conflict with her advice.
A judge will hold a hearing on the support issue on August 10th.
Source: USA Today “Dodgers owner seeks lower spousal support payments” 7/17/2011
Subscribe To This Blog’s Feed
