Legal Woes And Bitter Divorce Sends Another Housewife To Bankruptcy

Sonja Morgan, one of the stars of the “Real Housewives of New York City,” filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing legal woes and a bitter divorce as the cause of her financial troubles.

Morgan blamed her financial troubles on a failed movie project, which would have starred John Travolta, with Hannibal Pictures Inc.

According to the court papers, the film “Fast Flash to Bang Time” failed to get off the ground because her production company, Sonja Productions, did not meet the “various conditions” set by Travolta. Hannibal Pictures Inc. later sued Morgan’s production company in California and won the $7 million lawsuit.

Morgan said she wasn’t adequately represented at the trial and has filed an appeal. Morgan also pointed to her “bitter” and unresolved divorce from her husband, a man she described as “many years my senior and a descendant of J.P. Morgan and John Adams.”

Divorce can be a particularly contentious experience and has sent many divorcees into financial turmoil. A reality that has not left wealthy debtors unscathed by divorce’s destructive forces.  Many debtors file bankruptcy because they find that they’re careening towards the “financial abyss” after battling it out with an estranged spouse.  Fortunately, bankruptcy has the power to help debtors clean up a post-divorce financial mess.  This is the hope that Morgan has as she begins the bankruptcy process.

Morgan also hopes to preserve her assets while she works to resolve her disputes and formulate a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.  She listed her debts at $19.8 million and her assets at $13.5 million on her bankruptcy petition.  Her bankruptcy plan would seek to significantly reduce her debts while still preserving enough assets so that she can continue to pursue her entertainment career which she believes has the potential to be quite lucrative.