Jocelyn Wildenstein

New York socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein, nicknamed the “Catwoman” because of how plastic surgeons have altered her appearance, filed for bankruptcy this month in Manhattan.

Wildenstein's bankruptcy comes nearly two decades after she received a reported $2.5 billion in her divorce from former French billionaire Alec Wildenstein, an art dealer and horse enthusiast who died in 2008. The split between the Wildensteins, covered in a 1998 feature story in Vanity Fair, resulted in one of the largest settlements in history.

In her personal Chapter 11 filing, Jocelyn Wildenstein lists more than $300,000 in debts owed to various lawyers and law firms. They include $124,605 to Carter Ledyard & Milburn; $78,474 to New York's Matalon Shweky Elman; $70,000 to litigator John Mavroudis in Oradell, New Jersey; $30,431 to New York's Department of Labor for labor law obligations; and an undisclosed sum to The Deiorio Law Group in Rye Brook, New York.

“It's a regular Chapter 11 case,” said bankruptcy lawyer Douglas Pick, a name partner at New York's Pick & Zabicki representing Wildenstein in the matter.

In court filings, Pick's firm said it has received $10,000 as compensation for representing Wildenstein in her bankruptcy. Pick himself sounded somewhat annoyed at answering questions from a reporter about his quasi-famous client, who has received a barrage of news coverage since she sought Chapter 11 protection earlier this month.

“She owes money to lawyers. I don't know if it's a lot,” said Pick about Wildenstein, who listed assets of $16.39 million against $6.38 million in liabilities in her Chapter 11 case.

Those assets include a double unit apartment valued at $11.75 million at the United Nations Plaza building in midtown Manhattan, as well as a 2006 Bentley now worth less than $35,000.

Pick may not be the last lawyer that Wildenstein hires.

Wildenstein recently told the New York Post's Page Six, which frequently updates its readers about the so-called Catwoman, that she is planning on suing her trust. The trust was set up as part of her divorce from her late husband and was “guaranteed” by a painting by Diego Velázquez.

According to the Post and Wildenstein, that painting turned out to be a forgery, and another art work by Paul Cézanne turned out to be worth much less than expected.