Teresa Giudice and Luis Ruelas are in the midst of a legal headache as they face a $3 million tax debt.
Amid the legal dramas, Margery Greenberg Esq, a partner at Dorf Nelson & Zauderer, who is not directly connected to the case, spoke exclusively to Us Weekly on Thursday, March 27, to explain the liens, what they are dealing with and the potential ramifications on their family.
"I mean, it doesn’t look like Teresa and Louis have charges against them, like criminal charges like Teresa had last time, not yet,” Greenberg Esq said, referring to Teresa serving 11 months behind bars after she and then-husband Joe Giudice filed for bankruptcy after incurring an $11 million debt in 2009.
According to court docs obtained by Us, the Real Housewives of New Jersey star and Ruelas owe $2.5 million and $303,000, respectively. A third debt has since been closed. The pair has not addressed the financial situation. Us Weekly reached out for comment at the time.
Greenberg Esq explained the pair “seem to have a substantial tax debt” which the “government is looking to go after him to collect their money.” One of the ways they can do this is by attaching a lien to assets such as Ruelas’ $3.5 million mansion, according to Greenberg Esq.
The lawyer added that Giudice and her children may be adversely impacted as well due to her marriage to Ruelas – something that signing a prenuptial agreement may have helped avoid. (Teresa shares four children: Gia, 23, Gabriella, 20, Milania, 19, and Audriana, 15, with her ex-husband Joe.)
"It’s on the level of having your current income and your current assets being seized and how that impacts the children. If to the extent that the youngest is still living in the home, the risk of having that home enter into foreclosure or being seized by the government is, you know, impacting currently, the day-to-day lifestyle that that child has,” she said.
She continued: “But also looking at a larger or a, different picture. What if something were to happen to you? These debts could, could go after an estate as well, and therefore you’re not protecting your children on a longer term or on a deeper level, if they had a prenup, whether it is a societal taboo or a cultural taboo, or just plain unsexy.”
Greenberg Esq added: “The reality of it is, is that it’s a form of intimacy that really people need to be having greater conversations about that are often avoided.”
Greenberg Esq said she was surprised there was no prenuptial signed by Giudice before her marriage to Ruelas.
“Quite frankly, given Teresa’s history, it’s a bit astounding that she didn’t venture into a prenuptial agreement because a prenuptial agreement really would’ve assisted her here,” Greenberg Esq said, adding: “It’s troubling that she didn’t take that option.”
Greenberg went to claim that the couple could lose the mansion due to a tax lien being attached to it, depending on when it was bought by Ruelas.
"Well, I’m not too sure when he bought the mansion… but if he purchased the mansion after the two of them got married, whether he put it in the LLC or not, the LLC is then a marital asset,” she said.
She continued: “It’s about the timing of the purchase. That’s the pertinent issue here. So if he bought the mansion after the marriage, LLC or not, and now it’s subject to a tax lien.”
It’s not just assets that Giudice and Ruelas are at risk of losing, according to Greenberg Esq. All income made and saved by both Giudice and Ruelas could be at risk. However, Greenberg said whether Ruelas failed to pay taxes prior to their marriage could impact how much Giudice is liable.
