On weekends throughout the months of summer many California families hold garage sales to get rid of items that they no longer want or need. While many are happy with the small amounts of cash they earn from parting with their possessions, most are pleased to just have more space back in their homes. A popular Hollywood actor is in the process of holding his own sort of personal item sale during a time when there is growing speculation that he is in financial dire straits.
Burt Reynolds has been a fixture in many movies and television programs for several decades. In the 1980s he wed fellow actor Loni Anderson and the pair were married for five years. After their marriage ended Reynolds and Anderson engaged in what has become a long legal battle over the amount of alimony Reynolds was to pay his ex-wife.
At present Reynolds may owe Anderson more than $150,000 in unpaid spousal maintenance and accrued interest. That financial hardship, coupled with alleged poor business ventures, reportedly has led to the acting icon’s fall from prosperity. Whether any monetary gains realized from the sale will go directly to Anderson is unclear.
The financial and legal headache that now plagues Reynolds has endured for more than two decades since his parting with Anderson. Obligations such as alimony and child support are legal duties that a person must fulfill pursuant to the terms of his or her court determination. While there is no way to ever guarantee that a couple will not argue over alimony during their post-divorce lives, careful planning during the divorce process can help people find alimony arrangements that reduce their opportunities to later fight over money.
Source: The Washington Post, “Burt Reynolds auctioning off a lifetime of glittery memorabilia,” Fred Barbash, Dec. 12, 2014
