It’s hard to know how to recap Tori Spelling’s financial issues, but just going on my previous reporting, she owes hundreds of thousands to creditors, she’s been sued twice for nonpayment of debts, and she’s owed hundreds of thousands in both federal and state taxes. (It’s possible she’s paid some of that bank.) Tori’s bank accounts were seized by the IRS in 2017. Tori wrote about her complete lack of understanding about money in her first biography, sTori Telling, which came out in 2008. She’s had over a decade to figure out how to spend less, but she’s continued to be willfully ignorant about the fact that she doesn’t have unlimited funds. Instead, she’s overextended herself, taken out loans and credit cards, and hasn’t paid what she owes. Her husband, Dean McDermott, also owes six figures in back child support. Tori and Dean continue to live extravagantly, travel and throw big parties for their kids (pre-lockdown) and we know because they document it on Instagram.
Anyway in March, 2017 Tori was court-ordered to pay back almost $89,000 to AmEx. She didn’t pay in over three years, so money was seized from her bank account for that this April. US has the story:
Tori Spelling had money seized from her bank account after she refused to pay back debts she owed to American Express.
A writ of execution was ordered by the court in March 2020 and executed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in April 2020, according to documents obtained by Us Weekly. Prior to the ruling, the 47-year-old actress’ debt to the credit card company ballooned up to $88,731.25.
While it’s unclear if the money has been collected yet, American Express originally filed a lawsuit against Spelling in October 2016. A default judgment against her was made in March 2017, ordering her to pay back the amount she owed.
Us goes on to report that the second case against Tori and Dean, for nonpayment of over $266,000 to City National Bank, is still happening. How do you not pay a court judgment for three years? If I’m late with an electric bill I feel guilty. Does she not pay any bills, or just the big ones? We know she’s tried to scam resorts and restaurants, so I’m sure she avoids paying her other debts. She still lives large and her mom probably isn’t paying for everything. How how she avoided bankruptcy so far? Why are all her earnings not garnished? I have so many questions.
Look she’s shilling stuff on her Instagram, she should be paying what she owes.
She’s a mess-and what terrible lessons to be teaching their kids. I can’t believe there are companies still working with her to promote their products, dummies that still follow her and buy what she’s shilling. Crazy.
That’s what I thought too. Any company who works with her is one I want to stay away from!
Worst case scenario, she is tanking her children’s credit by using their social security numbers to open accounts.
OMG, what an ignorant and foul thing to do to your child. Does the child become responsible for the debt once they reach legal age?
oh my god that’s horrifying…
although she probably thinks if she does that then Candy will just bail them out. They’re her only way to siphon money out of Candy.
I have a friend who’s mom was a gambling addict and did that.
Ruined her kids’ credit while they were under 18.
I had never even heard of such a thing. Horror show.
I honestly think that it is some kind of behavioral addiction. She needs to get treatment and start dealing with the mess she’s made. But I doubt she will.
@Still_Sarah, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. There are a number of behavioral disorders that encompass addictive symptoms. My partner’s ex-wife was/is like that. She routinely racked up tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt that they couldn’t afford but despite him asking her repeatedly to stop, going over their budget, etc. She ignored him and kept on spending even though she wasn’t working. She had other symptoms of a personality disorder, the OTT spending was just the tip of the iceberg.
My Mother did this to me. My husband’s Mother did it to him and his brother. It was a shock for both of us just starting our lives to see our credit destroyed. She is ruining her children’s lives.
My mom did that to me. Got a bloody mortgage under my name!
Oh my god, I can’t believe how often this happens, it shouldn’t be allowed to affect the victims(children), there need to be laws protecting them. I am so sorry to hear it has happened to any of you, I can’t imagine doing such a thing to a child of mine.
Truly a low down and dirty thing to do to your child.
Her face looks like a mask in the dog food picture.
The more I stare at that pic
The weirder it gets…
Her face looks like a mask.
FIFY
Keep popping out those kids though !
She should have married rich.
And the creepy vibe of waiting for her mom to die so she can inherit is wafting off her.
I hope her mom leaves everything to charity and/or her cute dog.
I think Dean thought HE was marrying rich. He was…mistaken.
i seriously hope her mother has money set aside for the kids, and doesn’t leave much to Tori but instead gives it to charity. Tori will just blow through it.
She was constantly going on vacations and having big parties, renting big houses, etc. When the money problems started years ago, if she couldn’t handle it, she should have gotten a financial advisor to budget for her. This is inexcusable behavior.
I will never forget the scene from the show when those two were in couples therapy after Dean’s “affair” ( why is it that woman never came into fruition) and Dean said the Tori that they could always downsize and not spend on things they don’t really need.
Tori said, I kid you not, to Dean, that her father would not want that for her and that is why she is never going to do it.
Yep.
My God this woman is truly not living in the real world. Would Aaron really want her living like she is now, with so much financial insecurity? Especially since a session with a financial planner would help her and Dean live within their means and pay off their debts, freeing up money for the “luxuries” they can’t seem to live without? Even if Candy leaves Tori a portion of her wealth, does anyone doubt Tori will blow through it in a year without any of her debts being settled? How is it that her brother, raised in the same circumstances, has seemingly been able to pay his bills and provide for his family?
Am I the only one really concerned about the welfare of these children? Even if she hasn’t ruined their credit, how stressfull must their lives be?
Her father bequeathed her less than a million dollars. He obviously did want her to live like that.
Came here to say the same thing. My problem with that, is if you’ve had a child live a certain way, and you don’t prepare them for life without those resources you’re setting them up for failure. She’s a grown woman, and she not only can’t accept her current circumstance, she can’t let herself process that her father’s actions don’t match her delusion. It’s sad.
She should partner with a credit counseling bureau or Suze Orman!
Seriously though, the debt problem in this country in general is out of control. We need stronger regulations. Debtors are very predatory. Not excusing Tori (her brother was raised in the same family and lives completely within his means as far as I can tell) but it is way too easy to get in over your head with credit cards.
Payday loans and those loan storefronts need to be outlawed entirely nationwide. That’s a slightly different issue.
Absolutely.
The system is very predatory on those who are struggling. Tori is just selfish and stupid. She’s made plenty of money.
I don’t think Tori is a good example of the systemic debt issues in this country. She’s rich. She could eliminate her debts simply by living slightly more within her means. Most Americans who deal with debt are dealing with forces beyond their control (over 75% of consumer bankruptcies are attributable to either loss of job or major illness). She doesn’t have this – she comes from generational wealth and routinely insists on living outside of her means. I can’t muster much sympathy for such a person.
Tori has a brother who had the same opportunities as her and chooses (or his forced to live) a simple life. He did not inherit. I believe the Mom pays for his kids’ school and that is about it.
Both the Spelling kids got the same amount of money when Aaron died. Randy took his, moved to Oregon, got married and works as a life coach. Who knows if that’s what he wants to do, but he’s living within the means he has. I don’t judge people for letting grandparents help out – many want to, and that’s okay. My parents helped us out at times (though we did not ask, it was a gift).
Tori’s issue is that she refuses to accept any reduction in lifestyle. Her mom has made pretty clear that she’s not going to be a bank for them (which I think stems a lot from Tori taking up with Dean). Tori is just delusional and refuses to accept reality. She will never be poor by any means, but can’t seems to not even tolerate a slight reduction in lifestyle at all.
how does she keep getting access to credit? rich people, man
She just doesn’t want to give up the lifestyle. She doesn’t have any excuses. Her brother grew up the same way she did but isn’t like her. He took the payout his dad left, moved out of California and just lives a quiet life. I think she just probably feels like because her last name is Spelling, she should be able to live this way. And Dean is a pathetic hanger-on.
Those kids. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture where those kids look genuinely happy or at ease. They probably know that they’re little workhorses for mommy.
Tori has money in her bank accounts?
she has at least some money. She does an insane amount of sponcon, she gets residuals from the shows she was on, etc. She’s not totally without income. She just lives way beyond her means. My best guess is that they keep the money by probably placing it into LLCs, trusts and/or other names. Never doubt the ability of rich people to hide money.
How is this woman not in jail for this garbage? Oh, she’s white and her parents were rich.
I have zero sympathy for her! She could easily
Live like us peasants in a normal house and drive a used minivan and be fine but she needs this disgusting consumerism lifestyle that she pimps her kids out for to try and maintain. She is soulless and beyond privileged and spoiled.
They really have no shame at all.
No sympathy and I too hope her Mom leaves her very little and the rest to charity – she is SO waiting for that windfall, it will be a rude awakening to when that happens and I’m here for it. But then again, she’s had many awakenings and yet nothing teaches her it seems *sigh*.
She never seems to lack money for facial procedures -or maybe those bills she does pay?!
I CAN’T for the life of me think of why ANY advertisers or companies would hire her to hock their stuff. What a waste of money – I would be more likely to NOT buy it because of her lol!! And if she’s getting the face treatments for free due to “advertising” I would NOT go there!!
This is wild. I had a $25 lab bill slip my mind and go to collections and I felt like a moron. Immediately called and paid it. How does this woman survive?
I think many rich people don’t understand the word ‘accountability’.
My family lived way above their means. It made me do the opposite. I lived way below my means so I wouldn’t have the stress of mounting bills every month. Only recently have I let myself enjoy what i have earned and spend a little more within my budget.
I like that Candy doesn’t bail her out every month. Though I’m sure Tori uses the grandkids as bait. More money more access. I hope Candy wills the Spelling fortune to charity. The last thing those two need are hundreds of millions to play with. It will be gone in a month.
Candy should set up the grandkids trusts to be accessible when they reach 55. A nice little retirement pot for them. It will keep Tory’s hands off the kids money for a few more years, unless they get sued by creditors as soon as they turn 21:(
I am ashamed to admit that I look forward to reading the tell-all books that the poor kids will someday write…
If they grow up with the same money values and debt, they would need to put out those books.
Even in California, Tori and Dean could live comfortably in the inheritance from Aaron Spelling and residuals. One of her problems is she thinks that she should been living the same standard of life she grew up with without putting in the hard work. I think Randy, her brother, understood that his inheritance from his father was a nice gift but was not meant to be his sole source of income. Randy may have wanted to be a huge star but he had enough self-awareness to realize that he had to have a plan B, even if it meant leaving LA and having a comfortable middle-class life. His kids probably won’t grow up expecting the same way of life he had and that Tori seems to be raising her kids to have.
Exactly, I will never forget the entitled attitude she had when Aaron told her when he was in the process of dying. That he had left both the Kids 1 million each. And she acted like he thought that was a lot of money due to his mental state. Bitch! yes it was. You are owed nothing in life. She could have had a nice lifestyle investing it wisely and saving from all the god awful reality shows she did. Randy did.
I feel so sorry for the kids, they’ll be taking on so much emotional weight with this without being able to analyse it yet. Doesn’t Tori have several storage units filled with unused goods? START THERE. Sell everything and pay some bills. That would require her agreeing to it though which doesn’t seem possible.
I’m not a fan of long-term storage, it’s out of sight, out of mind.
Those poor kids never look happy and you’re right about the emotional weight that they’ve likely taken to heart.
I totally forgot about the storage units! I feel like I read somewhere that maintaining those costs thousands a month. If that’s the case, selling the goods and getting rid of those fees would help a lot. That said, I feel like she’s lost so much of her cachet since her 90210 days that she may not get as much as she wants for items.
I’m in the minority of this. Yes, she’s a total mess and has squandered loads of money, but I feel her mother could bail her out of debt.
What else is candy doing w her huge bank account. There’s still plenty to leave to charity if she threw Tori $10 m. It’s her daughter and grandchildren for gods sake.