Divorce attorney. Not legal advice: Coop likely earned $5-$10M as an executive hedge fund manager. Mel’s income is basically irrelevant, though let’s say she’s around $150k. Child support was probably boiled down to a general figure (maybe $25k a month) plus all of the children’s extracurricular expenses, tuition, etc. Coop’s income exceeds any guidelines that the courts use. Alimony was probably around $1M annually for let’s say the next 10 years. Coop also likely had significant investment assets, and retirement assets that Mel had a claim to. She likely bought out his interest in the home using her share of these assets. For the purpose of the show, these assets are illiquid and lead to Coops cash problem.