"Revenge of the Nerds" star Robert Carradine and his estranged wife, Edith, are currently battling over temporary alimony. 'Revenge of the Nerds' Star Ripped by His Ex…Pay Support or Hock Your Guns!!!, tmz.com, November 2, 2017. Robert had been voluntarily (without court order) paying Edith $2,450/month plus some of his royalties while the parties worked out their divorce, but he stopped making the payments while Edith was in Switzerland caring for her sick father, forcing her to formally request temporary alimony. Edith is requesting $4,000/month plus $15,000 in attorney's fees. She preempts a possible allegation by Robert that he is financially unable to pay by asking the court to make him sell his guitars, guns and cameras, worth nearly $200,000, to pay her this temporary support.
It is questionable whether a court will make Robert sell these assets to pay temporary alimony. In making its determination, the court will generally balance Edith's need for the alimony with Robert's ability to pay it. Assuming Edith's need is sufficient, the court will look at Robert's monthly income, including royalties, as well as any liquid assets. This could include the guitar, gin and camera collection described above. But the court will look at how much Edith truly needs in determining whether these assets should be sold.
Robert was voluntarily paying $2,450 and, presumably, she did not complain about that amount. Thus, she will now have to prove why she needs additional money each month. If she can support her request, then the court may order him to sell a portion of this collection to pay the support. However, this will then go to his ability to pay and, if he has to liquidate assets in order to pay what she wants, a court may not order him to do so. In the end, the court set the alimony amount by reaching a balance between her substantiated need and his ability to pay based upon income and assets.