Ralphie May Tried to Sell His House to Pay Off Divorce Lawyers, Documents Reveal

Ralphie May was battling it out with his estranged wife in court weeks before he passed away and his money troubles were so bad, he wanted to sell his home to help pay off his divorce lawyers.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, May and his estranged wife, Lahna Turner, were going back and forth in court over finances and support. May filed for divorce in 2015, but it never became official before his death.

During the summer, May filed documents with the court asking for permission to list his Tennessee home for sale (Lahna and the couple's two kids lived in California).

May explained that the $22,000 in support he was ordered to pay, plus his own monthly financial obligations, plus the couple's exorbitant legal fees necessitated the sale.

According to the documents, May believed the sale could bring in $633,000 and believed the money could be used to pay off both his and Turner's legal bills. He wanted the remaining balance of the money to be put in a court escrow account. Turner agreed to the sale, but wanted the extra proceeds put her in her lawyers' account.

Turner disagreed with May about how much money he actually made and on September 22, a judge ruled that she could hire a forensic expert to audit his finances and the comedian was required to pay the $3,000 retainer.

May was also ordered to continue paying the mortgage on the marital home in California as well as all the utilities, cable, security, repairs, and maintenance of the property. He was also ordered to pay her car insurance and the kids' music and tutoring lessons.

But it didn't end there — May was also ordered to pay the $2,200 minimum monthly payments for Turner's personal credit cards, an additional $9,000/month in temporary child support and $25,000 for her attorney fees.

The two were also arguing over the money coming in from his 2015 Netflix comedy special and his autobiography. May said he didn’t expect any more money to come in for the projects and accused his ex of trying to force him into a settlement. She believed he was still owed $90,000 for the book and $60,000 from Netflix.

Turner also pointed to the fact that May had recently renewed his contract to continue his residency at the Harrah’s casino in Las Vegas.

In the end, all the arguing became moot when May passed away on October 6. The divorce never became official and, as The Blast first reported, May's will named Turner named the executor of his estate.