Octomom Files for Bankruptcy

'Octomom' Nadya Suleman filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Monday, stating in a court filing that she was $1 million in debt.

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'Octomom' Nadya Suleman on the Today Show

Raising children isn’t cheap, especially when you have 14 of them. “Octomom” Nadya Suleman filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Monday, stating in a court filing that she has as much as $1 million in debt, according to the Associated Press.

The mother of 14 owes more than 20 times her net worth. Her creditors include her father, the local water utility, DirecTV and the Whittier Christian School, which some of her children attend.  She also owes more than $30,000 in rent payment.  The bankruptcy will allow a court-appointed trustee to liquidate her assets and pay off her creditors before she is discharged from most of her debts.

Suleman’s financial instability dates back to before the birth of her octuplets in 2009. Suleman was already supporting her previous six children through food stamps and Social Security disability payments when she chose to undergo in-vitro fertilization. The treatment resulted in her eight children — the world’s longest-living octuplets.

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The “octomom” recently came under fire when an anonymous individual filed a complaint stating that Suleman’s children were living in unfit and unhealthy conditions. After an investigation, Orange County social workers said there was no cause for concern. Suleman believes she was set up.

For additional income, Suleman has relied on deals with media outlets. She recently posed topless in British magazine Closer, which she did despite previously saying she would never pose nude. According to a report on the website TMZ, Suleman has also agreed to perform in a solo pornographic film for “considerably more” than she’d been paid by Closer.

Despite her financial situation Suleman remains positive. “I’m staying strong,” she told the Hufington Post  in regards to her decision to file bankruptcy. “This is something I had to do because I have made poor decisions. I have regrets but can’t focus on them, I have to focus on moving forward. I have been dancing around all day with my kids. They have no idea about what is going on.”

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