'Blossom' alum Joey Lawrence settles bankruptcy case after accumulating $355k in debt

Aurelie Corinthios
Updated
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Joey Lawrence’s bankruptcy case is coming to an end.

The Blossom alum, whose Freeform show Melissa & Joey ended in 2015, has settled his debts — but according to court documents obtained by The Blast, several of his creditors, including the IRS, won’t be receiving the full payment owed.

Lawrence, 41, and his wife Chandie Yawn-Nelson filed for bankruptcy in July 2017 with just $8,000 in the bank and $60 in cash after accumulating $355,517.27 worth of liabilities — including $132,000 in credit card bills, $100,000 owed for automobiles, $88,000 in back taxes, $54,000 in unpaid rent and $32,000 for an unpaid loan.

Last Friday, the trustee presiding over Lawrence’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy filed the final report in the case, obtained by The Blast. According to the report, the trustee was able to collect $75,636.22 in assets from Lawrence’s estate to pay back his creditors. After some legal administrative fees and other payments were made, a balance of $52,547.88 was left to be paid out.

According to the report, the IRS will be paid a little over $31,000 of the $67,000 owed. The State of California Franchise Tax Board will only be paid half of a $14,000 claim.

Several creditors won’t receive payment, according to the report: Ford Motor Company will receive $0 despite filing claims totaling $42,000. BMW will also receive $0 of the $50,000 owed to them. (Lawrence’s cars — a 2014 Bentley, a 2016 BMW i8, and a 2105 Ford Flex — had previously been repossessed.)

Other creditors that won’t receive payment include Capital One (owed $30,000), American Express (owed $47,000), Daimler Trust (owed $130,000) and Woodside Credit (owed $76,000), according to the report.

According to Lawrence’s original bankruptcy filing, while Lawrence made $534,000 in 2015, part of the problem was that he had earned far less in 2016, taking home just $58,000. Lawrence claimed made an average of $6,966 a month, including $2,500 in residuals — but his monthly expenses were far higher: $25,505.35 total, per the documents, leaving him $18,539.35 a month in the red.

To help their financial situation, Lawrence and his wife had previously sold some of their items secondhand, including clothing, accessories and furniture.