Pop Singer Toni Braxton Reaches Deal to Exit Bankruptcy Court
By John Clark
After more than two years of legal wrangling, pop star Toni Braxton has reportedly reached a deal to wrap up her bankruptcy filing, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Braxton originally filed for bankruptcy in 2010, claiming that she owed tens of millions of dollars to creditors, but it appears her long debt relief journey may be coming to an end.
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Toni Braxton Reaches Deal to Leave Bankruptcy Court
According to reports, Braxton has reached a tentative deal with the bankruptcy trustee to end her Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, which ended up costing her roughly $150,000 (although it may have allowed her to escape from millions of dollars in debt).
Sources say Braxton also reached a deal a few months ago with the bankruptcy trustee to buy some of the personal property she lost in the Chapter 7 case.
Braxton reportedly paid $5,000 a month for a little more than a year for the right to repurchase some of her own assets, sources indicate.
But Braxton and the trustee had also tussled for several months over the $754,000 Braxton was paid for performing in other countries after she filed for bankruptcy.
The trustee believed that creditors were entitled to some of this money, but Braxton said she should be able to keep the funds because they were earned after she went to bankruptcy court.
In response, the trustee noted that the money was placed into an escrow account before Braxton filed for bankruptcy, and that this meant the court was entitled to take the funds.
Eventually, the parties reportedly came to a compromise. Braxton agreed to pay $150,000 to the trustee, and the trustee agreed to allow Braxton to buy the rights to several of her songs for $20,000, according to reports.
Bankruptcy Case is Second Filing for Legendary Singer
Sources note that the agreement between Braxton and the trustee must still be approved by a Chapter 7 bankruptcy judge, but this may be little more than a formality, predict sources.
And thus ends the singer’s second trip to bankruptcy court. According to reports, Braxton first filed for bankruptcy in 1998.
In the fifteen years since that filing, Braxton has seen her share of financial troubles. In addition to owing several millions dollars to many different creditors, she also owes $396,000 in tax debt to the Internal Revenue Service. But the bankruptcy may allow her to find funds to repay the government.