Gossip Girl's Kelly Rutherford Files for Bankruptcy

Gossip Girl's Kelly Rutherford Files for Bankruptcy

After months of speculation about whether actress Kelly Rutherford would be able to overcome her financial difficulties, the former Gossip Girl actress officially files for bankruptcy.

Rutherford, who played an Upper East Side divorcée on the hit television drama, has cited her own divorce from German businessman Daniel Giersch and the bitter custody battle that ensued as the cause of her financial insolvency. Following the couple’s high-profile divorce in 2008, both parties lobbied for sole custody of their two children. In 2012, a judge ruled that the children would live with their father in France, after the businessman’s visa was revoked and he was unable to return to the United States. As a result, Rutherford reports that legal fees she incurred to get her children back coupled with her frequent travel costs have weakened her finances.

“I’ve traveled 40 times to either facilitate contact with their dad or visit them and bring them back and forth and paid for everything,” Rutherford told E! News in April. “Every penny from ‘Gossip Girl,’ my pension, my stocks, it’s all been spent fighting for my children.”

In court documents, Rutherford  – who paid roughly $1.5 million in legal fees – states that she was previously earning up to $486,000 when the Gossip Girl series ended in fall 2012. However, she cited $2 million in liabilities in court documents and listed her monthly income as $1,279.33. She listed total assets of $23,937, TMZ.com first reported. Further, the actress owes roughly $350,000 for income taxes in 2012 and $25,251 in American Express credit card charges, according to the Business Insider.

Rutherford filed for Chapter 7 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in California, meaning that she plans to liquidate her total assets to repay her debt. Chapter 7 is typically filed when individuals have limited property and assets, and have little income remaining after paying their basic necessary expenses.