Stephen Collins begins ‘ugly’ divorce process following molestation confession

'7th Heaven' star and wife Faye Grant will attend divorce court on Wednesday to divide their assets.

Nearly ten years after Stephen Collins’ estranged wife recorded the former 7th Heaven star admitting that he molested underage girls, the couple is finally going to divorce court to divide up their assets. USA Today has confirmed that Collins and Faye Grant will enter the courtroom on Wednesday, for what Los Angeles attorney Lisa Bloom is calling “the ugliest case to hit the media.”

Shortly after Collins’ taped confession was leaked to TMZ. re-runs of 7th Heaven were canceled, he was dropped from Ted 2, dropped by his agent, lost a role on Scandal, and was forced to resign from the board of the Screen Actors Guild. However, the confession may not play a role in the courtroom; a divorce court asset proceeding is “usually just about the money,” says Bloom.

“The court wants to find out the pool of assets they’re working with — real property, bank accounts, money coming in from royalties — and generally it’s divided roughly 50-50. The court does not want to get into reasons for the divorce; everyone has their reasons, everyone is angry, upset and emotional in divorces.”

While the recording may not be admissible in court, it is possible that Collins will try to get his wife to sign a confidentiality agreement to keep her from talking about it or releasing more information to the media.

“Most of these cases end up settled before or even after the judge rules, and in a settlement all of it is relevant,” said Bloom. “If Collins wants a confidentiality agreement from his wife… he’s going to have to get her to settle and will likely have to pay her a substantial amount.”

The Associated Press reports that a filing by Collins’ lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, reveals that Collins hopes to avoid paying Grant’s $13,000-a-month spousal support request because of the effect her recording has had on his income. Grant is also asking for half the couple’s millions in assets, but Kaplan said in a court filing last month that, due to the aftermath of the molestation recording leak, Collins’ income has been reduced to merely what he can earn off investments. When asked for more detail, Kaplan told the AP that he will not be making any public statements, stating “I refuse to participate in a trial by sound bite.”