After debt problems that included a potential foreclosure, an possible upcoming divorce and delays in the release of her latest CD, singer Toni Braxton filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on September 30. This will be Braxton’s second experience with bankruptcy after a 1997 dispute over her recording contract nearly drove her from the business.
According to Braxton’s bankruptcy petition, the singer reports assets of approximately $1 million and an unknown amount of debt in the range of $10 million to $50 million. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee will be appointed to determine her total assets and debts and distribute the proceeds of the sale of her assets to creditors.
Mortgage Troubles on L.A. Home and Other Financial Difficulties Reported
Braxton was married in 2001 and is currently separated from her husband. Her wedding established her as a trendsetter when it included a cake modeled after a stack of Tiffany’s jewelry boxes and linens dyed in Tiffany’s trademark robin’s egg blue.
Tiffany & Co. is listed on Braxton’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition as a creditor, as are Neiman Marcus, the Flamingo Las Vegas hotel and casino, the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C., and a number of entertainment-related companies including the Screen Actors Guild and RCA Music Group. Braxton apparently also has incurred substantial tax debt, listing the IRS and both state and local taxing authorities in California among her creditors.
In the fall of 2009, Braxton reportedly was facing foreclosure on her L.A. home after she was unable to keep up with her mortgage payments.
Braxton’s latest album “Pulse,” her sixth, was released in May 2010 after several delays.
Source: Bankruptcy Beat (Wall Street Journal blog), “Toni Braxton Files for Bankruptcy Again,” Jacqueline Palank, October 7, 2010