Bethenny Frankel Does Not Have To Pay $12K A Month To Ex-Husband Anymore, Court Rules

Since Bethenny Frankel and her soon-to-be ex-husband parted ways, the reality star has been expected to pay out $11,852 per month in temporary maintenance to him. That’s all changed since a state appeals court ruled Frankel no longer has to pay the sizable amount to 45-year-old Jason Hoppy.

However, Bethenny is not in the clear yet and still has a bit of a fight in regards to a condo she bought in Tribeca. The New York Daily News shares about the continued battle between Frankel and Hoppy.

“The ruling by the state Appellate Division wasn’t a total victory for the 45-year-old ‘Real Housewives of New York’ star — she still has a fight on her hands to keep the $5 million Tribeca condominium that she bought when she and Jason Hoppy, 45, were together”

The issue regarding the condominium in lower Manhattan stems from the fact that although Frankel bought the unit with her own money, the star is not entitled to get full ownership of it because the deed names a trust as the owner and the trust named both Bethenny and her ex-beneficiaries. The trust, however, was ruled invalid because of how the signatures of Frankel and Hoppy appear on the document.

The apartment cannot, therefore, be granted to Frankel because of the issues at hand that must be ruled on. Additional issues regarding the property include Hoppy’s claim that the former couple had always agreed to share it as well as Frankel’s questions as to whether or not her ex, who acted as her business partner for a short time, was involved in fraudulent activity regarding the preparation of the trust documents.

The publication shares the breakdown as to what Bethenny has been expected to shell out to her ex over the past couple of years since their split.

“[R]eports last year [claim] that Frankel, a businesswoman who made millions on SkinnyGirl vodka and other products, has been paying Hoppy a court ordered total of $26,000 a month since they split in 2012, including almost $12,000 a month in temporary alimony and $10,000 a month in child support.”

In terms of the latest judgment, four judges ruled on the case and three of four ruled in Frankel’s favor based on the fact that the couple’s prenuptial agreement waived “any and all claims for spousal support and/or maintenance” which meant a waiver of “any kind of spousal support, including temporary support.”

The one judge that ruled against Bethenny, Rolando Acosta, justified his decision stating that the waiver was “anything but clear and unmistakable” because it didn’t specifically rule out temporary maintenance.

Frankel makes a great deal more than Hoppy and Acosta noted that prior court decisions have required more precise language in pre-nuptials because “temporary maintenance is essential in leveling the playing field in a divorce where one party has considerably more money than the other,” as the Daily News relays.

Frankel, who is said to be worth $55 million, has not been made aware as to whether her ex, a sales executive, will be expected to pay back any of the money he’s been paid until this point. The couple was married in 2010 and share a daughter named Bryn. A custody deal had been reached in 2014 yet money issues is a constant sore point for the two. Issues over their daughter have also been constant, as Radar Online shared last year.

Bethenny’s first reality TV appearance came when she competed on the long-running hit show The Apprentice, The sharp-tongued and witty business woman then joined the cast of The Real Housewives of New York. In preparation for their wedding, Bethenny and Jason had their own reality shoe entitled Bethenny Getting Married? Following their split and custody battle, Frankel then returned to the Real Housewives on which she has voiced the hardships she has faced because of her split from Hoppy.

[Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Skinnygirl Cocktails]