money (319 posts)

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Look who's coming around after all.

Joe Jackson, who previously said that he spends most of his time in Las Vegas and that his estranged wife, Katherine, would handle the raising of Michael Jackson's children, is now petitioning the estate for his own monthly stipend.

Saying he has no steady source of income aside from $1,700 a month from Social Security, Jackson stated in court documents that he had relied on his son for support up until the King of Pop's death. Michael gave money to his mom, which she in turn, acting as an agreed-upon go-between, gave to Joe.

Michael did not provide for Joe in his will, rather splitting his estate among his mother, children and various charities.

But that doesn't mean the King of Pop's estate is legally prohibited from providing for Joe, his lawyers insist.

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Are Slumdog Millionaire's youngest stars too cool for school?

The benefactors who set up a trust fund for youngsters Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Rubina Ali to better their lives in the wake of the film's success said Thursday that the kids have skipped too much school and could lose their financial support.

The terms of the Jai Ho Trust, set up by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson, stated that Rubina, 9, and Azharuddin, 11, show up for at least 70 percent of the school term. They've been receiving $120 monthly stipends and are due to receive larger sums when they turn 18.

But right now, Rubina's attendance stands at 27 percent and Azharuddin's is 37 percent.

And that's not good enough, according to Boyle and Colson, who also hooked the Ismails up with a $50,000 home in July.

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AP Photo/Tim Aylen

John Travolta may have made a career out of cliff-hangers, but this is probably not what he had in mind.

While Picewell Forbes, the Bahamian politico behind the mistrial in Travolta and Kelly Preston's $25 million extortion case, was ordered before a judge this morning. He was expected to be grilled on why he publicly announced there was an acquittal before the jury even finished deliberations and try his hardest not to be held in contempt.

Instead, he was given one more week to come up with something good. And no, "the dog ate my common sense" will probably not fly.

Bahamian Senior Justice Anita Allen told the Progressive Liberal Party MP that he has until next Thursday to enlighten the world—and the court—as to both the rationale and sourcing behind his justice-marring outburst.

"One can see that the fairness of the trial could have been compromised," Allen lectured him in court.

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Memo to Bruce Jenner: there might be a reason your family likes keeping you in the dark.

The loosest lipped member of the reality clan is at again, this time becoming the first family member to go on the record about stepdaughter Khloé Kardashian hitherto unconfirmed prenup with Lamar Odom.

"Khloé is very smart," he said at last night's launch of his new son-in-law's clothing line, Rich Soil. "They both have careers and assets and that's the smart thing to do, for both of them. I think they're doing the right thing."

Just as long as he doesn't also think he won't be on the receiving end of a few stink eyes around the family table, it shouldn't be a problem.

Fortunately, he didn't divulge any specifics.

"You've seen the show! I get told nothing," he said.

Sources close to the Kardashian clan said that the newlyweds' prenup negotiations were amicable and far from the drama-fest that's been reported.

As for who would get what...

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When it comes to taking the blame for his recent headline-grabbing decline into financial ruin, Nicolas Cage is passing the buck. Which, on the bright side, means that he at least has one buck left to pass.

The Oscar-owning actor has filed suit against his (presumably former) business manager, asking for a whopping $20 million in damages for years' worth of unsound investment decisions that Cage says sent him "down a path toward financial ruin."

Read the lawsuit

Cage, who took home an estimated $40 million in the last year alone, claims in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Court that former money man Samuel Levin made one bank account-draining decision after another for a period of seven years, the extent of which only recently became clear to Cage.

Not to mention to anyone with an Internet connection.

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Did jail turn Richard Hatch straight? Following his own impeccable logic, it seems the only plausible reason why authorities in Bourne, Mass., released him early this morning.

Well, either that or his 51-month sentence for not reporting his Survivor bounty to Uncle Sam was finally up.

Either way, the nude-loving reality star was released from the Barnstable County Jail around 6 a.m. this morning, at which time he was taken to his home in Rhode Island (where, incidentally, he was serving out his previous home confinement before a morning chat with Matt Lauer landed him back behind bars).

The 48-year-old was placed on three years' supervised release, was ordered to complete a mental health program and will not be allowed to leave the tiny state without permission.

While he's now a free man, neither us nor the courts have yet to hear the last from him.

Hatch is continuing the fight to overturn his conviction on the grounds that prosecutors failed to properly poll jurors on their feelings about people's sexual orientation, and believes misconduct and discrimination—and not, you know, his blatant disregard for the IRS—had a role in his conviction. He's been representing himself and this week was told he would need to seek additional legal counsel if he wanted to continue his bid.

Where's Susan Hawk when you need her?

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Check out which other celebs are fighting the good fight in court.

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Oh, that money.

A day after a judge ordered Jon Gosselin to return $180,000 to his and Kate's joint account, the confused father of eight acknowledges that he improperly withdrew the funds.

"Well, it was just after arbitration, we weren't supposed to take money out of the restrictive account and we both did," Jon told Entertainment Tonight. "I was found in contempt for doing so. I didn't realize, I was just like taking my paycheck out."

Whoops!

But Jon also said that Kate, who accused her estranged hubby of removing $235,000 from their collective coffers and leaving her high and dry, might have to return whatever she withdrew without Jon's consent, as well.

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Lisa Berg/NBC, Adam Rose/CNN

If money talks, then there's going to be a lot of jibber-jabbering going on today.

Jon and Kate Gosselin and their respective legal camps are meeting today to hash out various financial matters, including Kate's request for temporary spousal and child support and, not incidentally, her claim that Jon withdrew $235,000 from one of their joint bank accounts in the course of a week.

A few weeks ago, Jon swapped his previous representation for legal eagle Mark Heller after another round of tabloid accusations had him dallying with the family nanny, and they promptly tried to put the brakes on the Gosselins' divorce proceedings until after the two sides had a chance to work together without the oversight of a court-appointed arbitrator.

Jon then decided that having his kids star in a reality show, which now happens to be named Kate Plus 8, is no longer a good idea, and he demanded that TLC cease production.

Heller, who has said that legal action against the network is imminent over its allegedly unfair treatment of the Gosselin children, told E! News yesterday that neither side would be issuing any comment until after Tuesday's hearing.

So here we are, not quite 24 hours later, not really missing either Jon or Kate, but yet waiting to hear what's happening behind closed doors.

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Whatever happens today, it'll just be another chapter in the Reality of Jon & Kate Plus 8.

Donna Svennevik/ ABC; Joe Coomber/Sipa via AP Images

We'll believe it when we see it—or rather, when we don't see it, hear it or read about it—but after what we can only imagine was a contentious weekend for anyone bearing the surname Gosselin, something of a détente has been called, at least temporarily, between Jon and Kate.

"We have a truce," Jon's attorney, Mark Heller, told E! News. "Neither side will be commenting until after the hearing."

A noble if exceedingly tardy gesture, to be sure, but all won't be quiet on the Gosselin front for too long: The silence-breaking hearing of which Heller speaks is taking place tomorrow.

The arbitrator's conference will be held in Pennsylvania at an as yet undisclosed location (in other words, not the courthouse) most likely at an attorney's office.

Over the weekend, Kate's attorney, Mark Momjian, told E! News that the duo will attempt to hash out agreements on "economic issues"—all 235,000 of them, we're guessing—during the hearing. Last week, Kate filed for temporary spousal and child support from Jon.

Wow, 24 hours without the Gosselins? What's an entertainment site to cover? Oh, yeah.

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Get all the latest on Jon and Kate.

Donna Svennevik/ ABC; Joe Coomber/Sipa via AP Images

One way or another, Kate Gosselin is getting her money back: the reality mom is seeking child support and temporary spousal support from her spelling-challenged, account-draining hubby.

Kate filed the application in court last week, at roughly the same time as the emergency petition she filed asking a judge to order Jon Gosselin to return the $235,000 he allegedly emptied from their joint account.

"She needs relief in light of the draining of substantial marital assets in violation of the arbitrator's decision that the money should be used only for specific purposes," Kate's attorney, Mark Momjian, told People.

For his part, Jon's attorney has yet to leak information to ET comment on the move. The duo is currently working with a court-appointed arbitrator to work out some of their more pressing financial issues.

Sadly, that arbitrator is not Nancy Grace.

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Catch up on the latest Jon and Kate developments.

VINCE VALITUTTI/Summit Entertainment

National treasure? More like national liability.

Just a week after word broke that Nicolas Cage has defaulted on a $2 million loan comes news that Uncle Sam is now among those bringing the hammer down on the, last we checked, rather prolific actor.

Over the summer, the IRS quietly placed a tax lien of nearly $6.26 million on Cage's New Orleans properties after the actor flat out failed to pay income taxes in 2007 (the same year, incidentally, that he raked in some serious back-end profits from Ghost Rider and National Treasure: Book of Secrets).

As if that weren't bad enough, the IRS obtained a second lien over yet more unpaid taxes, this time for income earned between 2002 and 2004. That lien, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported back in August, was for an additional $360,545,84.

Not surprisingly, Cage put two of his properties on the market this spring and was forced to sell off one of his many castles. The recession hits hard, folks. Still, where's Jerry Bruckheimer when you really need him?

Maybe Wesley Snipes could have a word, one cash-strapped action star to another?

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Catch up on Nicolas Cage's money woes.