Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Jennifer Tilly’s late ex-husband, Sam Simon, took steps to make sure she was taken care of financially before he passed, In Touch can exclusively report.
In Touch obtained a petition filed by Jennifer, 66, on May 6, 2016. Jennifer and Sam, who was a co-creator of The Simpsons, were married from 1985 until their divorce was finalized in December 1993.
Sam died on March 8, 2015, at the age of 59, following a long battle with cancer. Jennifer and Sam were extremely close after they split and attended many events together.
Per their divorce settlement, Jennifer was awarded 25 percent of Sam’s income from The Simpsons, including each episode, any films, syndication profits and various other income.
About a year after his death, Jennifer asked the court to approve a deal she reached with the trustee of Sam’s estate. She explained that during his lifetime, Sam’s income from The Simpsons was paid by Fox to Sam’s company.
Jennifer said Sam handled paying all the fees, including taxes, on the payments.
She said he would then send her a “net after tax-payment equal to my percentage of the net after-tax amount of the net proceeds.” Jennifer said the original plan was for Fox to pay her cut to her but that didn’t work out — which led to Sam just paying Jennifer himself every month.
She said that she and Sam had a provision added to their divorce settlement that made it clear even after Sam’s death Jennifer would be paid by his trustee.
Jennifer said Sam, who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2012, knew the payment process they had been using would not work after his death.
She said, “My understanding is that, knowing this, Sam made changes in anticipation of his death. He executed a beneficiary designation directing that I receive the same percentage of the Net Proceeds that I had been receiving during his lifetime.”
Jennifer continued, “He executed another beneficiary designation, directing that the Sam Simon Charitable Giving Foundation receive the remainder of the Net Proceeds.”
In her petition, Jennifer asked the court to approve a deal she worked out with the trustee which would allow her to continue to receive her payments from The Simpsons money. The judge signed off on the deal weeks later.
As In Touch first reported, Jennifer didn’t just score residuals from The Simpsons in her 1993 divorce settlement. Sam agreed to pay Jennifer a one-time lump sum of $400,000 and she kept her jewelry and clothing collection.
In addition, Jennifer was awarded the majority of her acting residuals and pension plan. Sam walked away with two L.A. properties and several bank accounts.
The exes were ordered to split up household furniture, a 1989 Mercedes Benz and a 1987 Mercedes Benz. Per their deal, Jennifer agreed to handle credit cards debt from Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Chase, American Express and Nordstrom. Jennifer was the one who filed for divorce from Sam. Her petition was filed on August 28, 1992.
The exes did not have any children.
Jennifer is currently in her first season as a “friend” on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
