Kimberly Clark Heir Unable to Pay Alimony

A 77-year-old heir to the Kimberly Clark Corp. fortune said in a divorce hearing that a decade of luxurious living left him with too little money to pay temporary alimony.

Financial records James Kimberly filed during a hearing last week on his 35-year-old wife’s request for emergency alimony pending their divorce indicated that assets of $4.7 million in 1969 have dwindled to about $1.12 million. That figure includes a $800,000 home on which Kimberly makes a monthly mortgage payment of $5,000 from trust fund income of $4,500 weekly, documents said.

Jacqueline Kimberly’s lawyer, Jack Ackerman, had filed court records saying her estimated expenses would total about $8,000 monthly. Kimberly’s lawyers offered $1,000 a month, he said after the hearing.

“Ridiculous,” Ackerman said.

Circuit Judge William Williams said he will rule on the alimony request by Friday.

The childless couple filed a divorce request for the third time July 2. In that request, Mrs. Kimberly said she deserves more of a settlement than permitted under a prenuptial agreement she signed nearly 15 years ago when the two married.

Lawyers for the white-haired Kimberly--who sported a gold-hoop earring in court--said he lives off his remaining assets, with his expenses running about $31,500 monthly.

The wife seeks “equitable distribution of assets in the form of lump-sum alimony,” plus rehabilitative alimony and use of the couple’s homes, according to court papers filed by Ackerman.

Married in 1969, the Kimberlys had met three years before, when she worked as a receptionist at a Palm Beach art gallery.

Under terms of a pre-marriage agreement on the possibility of divorce, Mrs. Kimberly would receive $18,000 for each year the marriage lasted.

Kimberly, who was married twice previously, listed assets of $4.7 million in the prenuptial agreement. Under the pact, his bride waived her right to otherwise share in his estate.