Former Teen Idol David Cassidy Proposes Bankruptcy Plan

If you are old enough to have been watching TV in the early 70s, you probably remember watching The Partridge Family. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, there’s always YouTube. The show featured actor and singer David Cassidy as teenage musician and lead family band member Keith Partridge. The series was quite popular during its four year run. It also found an audience in syndication.

You might think that, given the show’s popularity when it was running and later in syndication, Mr. Cassidy would be financially sound. But sadly, this is not the case. After The Partridge Family, Mr. Cassidy continued performing on his own. His parents are the late singer and actor Jack Cassidy and the late actress Evelyn Ward. But even this pedigree and his own career haven’t kept his personal finances healthy. Like many individuals who are faced with overwhelming debt, Mr. Cassidy has sought relief in the bankruptcy court. The sixty-six year old Cassidy attributes his financial woes to health issues that have prevented him from performing, bad investments, and diminishing royalty checks from his days portraying Keith Partridge on The Partridge Family.

Reportedly, he owns a mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has real estate holdings in the Bahamas. Although he also owns a nice car or two and has about $94,000.00 from a legal victory against Sony for unpaid royalties from The Partridge Family, he is still in dire financial straits. He has disclosed in his Chapter 11 bankruptcy that his monthly income is $12,500.00 per month but he reports $27,722.00 per month in expenses. This leaves him a little over $15,000.00 per month in the red.

As far as his debts go, he reports an $855,000.00 line of credit on his Florida mansion, credit card debts, and unpaid legal fees. Mr. Cassidy is also involved in pending litigation which is affecting his personal finances. He is still performing for his fans and reportedly plans to continue to do so as long as his health permits. He has proposed a plan in his Chapter 11 bankruptcy case to try to work his way out of the financial crisis. However, this plan must be voted upon by his creditors and then approved by the bankruptcy court. If his plan fails, his only way out might be to liquidate his assets under Chapter 7 of the federal bankruptcy code.

Mr. Cassidy’s case is an example of how financial troubles can afflict any of us at one time or another regardless of our occupations or stations in life. Federal bankruptcy law provides a legal and orderly way to address a financial crisis and to emerge with less or even no debt so that a fresh, new start is available. Hopefully, Mr. Cassidy’s finances can be favorably resolved and he can get the relief he seeks.