Judge Orders Jon Gosselin to Pay $180,000

The Gosselin drama over financial matters has closed one chapter, as a judge ordered Jon to return $180,000 of the money he secretly took from the joint bank account he had set up with soon to be ex-wife Kate Gosselin and that she reportedly used to pay the bills. At the first hearing to settle the matter, the judge sided with Kate and ordered Jon to return the money he took by October 26, when the next hearing is to take place, Omg Yahoo! writes, citing a Us Magazine report.

As they more than made it known in the media, the Gosselins are currently feuding over money. On the one hand, Kate says Jon took $230,000 of the joint bank account without asking her for permission (thus violating a direct court order), while, on the other, Jon accuses her of hiding money from him and making withdrawals that she can’t possibly justify. Both have filed papers asking a judge to settle the issue: the other day, a judge did by ordering Jon to pay up.

According to papers filed by Kate, Jon left her with exactly $1,345 in the bank, which is not even nearly enough to pay the bills. In light of this, the judge has decided that he has until the next hearing to return $180,000 of the sum he took without consent. “The remaining sum of $55,000, which Ms. Gosselin used for household bills and expenses relating to the children, will be subject to further determination by the arbitrator at a later date.” Mark Momjian, Kate’s attorney, says in a statement.

However, Jon’s legal rep is adamant that Kate cannot possibly offer justification for all the amounts she has withdrawn and spent. She will have to do so, though, as the arbitrator has also given her until October 26 to provide a detailed account of all her expenses. Mrs. Gosselin has told the media that she is happy with the outcome of the first hearing because she and her eight children have finally been done right by the judge.

Momjian’s statement “mischaracterizes the facts and fails to address... that there has been no determination or proof” that Kate spent the $55,000 on family expenses, Jon’s attorney, Mark Heller, says. “Nor has there been a determination concerning the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Kate has failed to account for in violation of the arbitrator’s order. It may very well be determined that very substantial sums of money which Kate has failed to account for might have been misapplied and misused by Kate. As of now, Jon Gosselin chooses to give Kate the benefit of doubt, but we are all anxiously awaiting her compliance.” Heller explains.