Casey Anthony’s life story is worth a decent chunk of change, and the trustee in charge of resolving her bankruptcy wants to sell the rights to it to help settle the nearly $800,000 she owes creditors.

The big catch is that Anthony doesn’t want to sell. Nonetheless, one bidder has already offered $10,000 – to bury her life story, he says – and more are waiting in the wings, according to her bankruptcy trustee.

On Tuesday afternoon, Anthony's trustee and her attorneys brought the issue before federal bankruptcy Judge K. Rodney May in Tampa, Fla., who decided he would make a decision 30 days from now on whether the worldwide exclusive rights to her life story can be auctioned off for cash -- a proposal May said he was "skeptical" of, reported NBC affiliate WESH.com. 

Most of the hundreds of thousands that Anthony, the Orlando, Fla., mother who was acquitted in 2011 in the murder of her two-year-old daughter Caylee, owes is to her defense attorney. She owns less than $1,100 in assets, according to a Chapter 7 petition filed for bankruptcy in January.

Her most valuable asset does not even exist yet, Stephen Meininger, her Tampa-based bankruptcy trustee, told the court on Tuesday, arguing that her best bet for paying back the approximately $792,000 she owes is to put the rights to her life story up for auction -- an unprecedented legal move Anthony's attorneys vehemently disagree with.

"The Trustee does not cite any law to support his contention that he can sell 'property' that has not yet been created," Anthony's attorneys, David Schrader and Debra Ferwarda, wrote in an April 4 court filing. "The Trustee’s Motion also creates a slippery slope that would have dangerous repercussions far beyond the scope of this case."

In the life story of Anthony, 27, there is a lot to tell: allegations of childhood sexual abuse by her father, George, one of the many bombshells that came up during her trial; what was going through her mind in the 31 days between when Caylee went missing and when her disappearance was reported to police; being in jail the day Caylee's remains were found; being voted America's "most hated person"; and what her elusive life has been like in Florida since her acquittal.

Meininger said he's received at least two written offers from people interested in buying the exclusive rights, and others who have expressed interest.

"We haven't really discussed figures, which is one of the reasons why we wanted to set up auction procedures at the hearing," he said Tuesday morning ahead of the hearing. He did say one of the offers was for $12,000. NBC's Kerry Sanders reported on TODAY that an Austin, Texas, attorney, James Schober, put in an offer of $10,000, but that bid was made on condition of preventing the story from ever getting out so Anthony would never profit from it.

"As much as I would like to think otherwise, Casey Anthony's story has value," Schober said.

Schober testified in Tuesday's court hearing via phone, WESH.com reported, and issued a statement explaining the reasons why he wanted to buy the rights to Anthony's story.

""(First)... to demonstrate that the asset has present value; second, to ensure that the proceeds from the sale of the asset are applied to the payment of her existing debts (which is a basic premise of Chapter 7 bankruptcy); and third, to ensure that the sale of the asset takes place in the clear light of day," he said.

No specifics about the second offer were given in court on Tuesday, other than that it came from a New York man who was looking to tell the story for entertainment value.

If the judge approves the sale 30 days from now, the money from the winning bid for Anthony's life story will go toward her debt. But asking Anthony to put something up for auction that doesn't exist yet isn't fair, her attorneys argue. 

"By allowing property that can only be created by post-petition labor to be sold as part of the bankruptcy estate, a debtor would never be able to achieve a ‘fresh start,’" the filing says. "Perhaps more troubling, the Order sought by the Trustee would result in the judicial invasion and taking of thoughts and memories that have not been memorialized but are contained solely within the debtor’s mind. This is a terrifying Orwellian prospect that would destroy the long-standing protections guaranteed by the Bankruptcy Code."

Anthony's attorneys also worry that if Schober were to win, it would greatly affect their client's personal life.

“The Trustee’s Motion would literally bar Ms. Anthony from ever discussion her life experiences with anyone by use of ‘all forms of social media’ or ‘the internet.’ Therefore, the plain language of the requested Order would bar Ms. Anthony from even sending an e-mail to her mother related to her childhood experiencing because the rights to those thoughts and memories would belong toe someone else,” the court filing says.

A new hearing will be held in 30 days.

This story was originally published on Tue Apr 9, 2013 11:58 AM EDT

Casey Anthony emerged from almost two years in hiding Monday — shielding her face from reporters and hustled by her lawyer through a swarm of cameras as she walked into a Florida courthouse for a bankruptcy hearing.

It was her first public appearance since July 2011, when she was found not guilty of murdering her daughter, Caylee.

She said in court that she has $484 cash to her name and has no job or car, NBC affiliate WESH in Orlando reported.

“I don’t pay rent. I don’t pay utilities. I live off the kindness of those I’m living with. I try to contribute when I can,” Anthony said, according to WESH.

She filed for bankruptcy in January, claiming $1,000 in assets and almost $800,000 in debt, including $500,000 owed to a former lawyer, WESH reported.

Anthony appeared in a YouTube video last year with short, blonde hair but appeared Monday to have returned to the brown hair she had during her trial.

On the short walk from a car to the courthouse, she was holding a floppy hat and wearing sunglasses. She kept her head down and was shielded in a near-headlock by her lawyer, who guided her through the crush of reporters.

Her lawyer Charles Greene said in January that Anthony filed for bankruptcy to stop people from coming after her with lawsuits.

Brian Blanco / AP

Casey Anthony leaves the federal courthouse in Tampa, with a U.S. Marshal after a bankruptcy hearing Monday, March 4, 2013. Anthony, 26, has not made any public appearances since she left jail after being acquitted in the murder of her two-year-old daughter Caylee. She filed for bankruptcy in Florida in late January, claiming about $1,000 in assets and $792,000 in liabilities. Court papers list Anthony as unemployed, with no recent income. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

“She wants people to just leave her alone,” Greene said. “She’s had multiple opportunities to do tell-all book deals, to do tell-all interviews for a lot of money. That’s not what she’s trying to do. She wants this over so she can finally have the time to mourn, not only about the loss of her daughter, but the loss of her life.”

Anthony’s trial was among the most sensational of the Internet and cable-news eras — televised live, followed by millions of people and dissected night after night by pundits. She was cleared of murder, manslaughter and child-abuse charges.

She was convicted of four misdemeanor counts of lying to investigators who were looking into Caylee’s disappearance in 2008. She got a four-year sentence, but counting time served and good behavior she was released less than two weeks after the conviction.

Related: 

Casey Anthony files for Chapter 7

Judge throws out Anthony charges

This story was originally published on Mon Mar 4, 2013 10:26 AM EST

Municipal bankruptcies are spreading like a “disease” in California, one public finance expert warned Wednesday as the city of Atwater declared a fiscal emergency with a budget gap of more than $3 million.

The city’s council approved the move on Wednesday night, putting it on the path to becoming the fourth city in the state to declare bankruptcy this year.

With a population of 28,000, Atwater fell on hard times after its housing market imploded and sent property tax revenue plummeting. Furloughs and a hiring freeze had not been able to stem Atwater's losses.

San Bernardino becomes 3rd Calif. city in 2 weeks to file for bankruptcy protection

Municipal debt market analysts are keeping a close eye on the finances of local governments in California out of concern that some could use fiscal emergency declarations as a way to speed Chapter 9 filings to attempt to shed financial obligations.

"In California, we have a disease, and the disease is spreading," David Kotok, chief investment officer at Florida-based Cumberland Advisors, told the State & Municipal Finance Conference conference in New York on Wednesday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

"I suspect we're going to see wholesale warnings and downgrades" among bond rating issuers in the state, he said.

If it went bankrupt, Atwater would follow Stockton, San Bernardino and Mammoth Lakes by making a Chapter 9 filing.

San Bernardino, California's city council in July authorized a bankruptcy filing after declaring a fiscal emergency. The city of 210,000 residents 65 miles east of Los Angeles, filed for bankruptcy on August 1.

By contrast, Stockton, a city of 300,000 located about 62 miles to the northwest of Atwater, became California's first city to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection this year after 90 days of inconclusive mediation with its creditors.

Mammoth Lakes, a resort town of about 8,000 residents in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, followed Stockton into bankruptcy court, saying it could not afford a $43 million legal judgment against it. Mammoth Lakes has since reached a settlement with the property developer in the legal dispute and later this month will seek to have its bankruptcy case dismissed.

City officials in Atwater are looking into options for increasing revenue such as raising 20-year-old rates for water services and 10-year-old rates for garbage collection services while clamping down on costs, all while considering whether to pursue a bankruptcy filing.

Union representative Nancy Vinson said 38 of Atwater's non-safety employees have received layoff notices and that 12 are sure to lose their jobs as part of the city's efforts to pare spending.

Vinson told Reuters by telephone that she believes Atwater's financial troubles are so severe that the city will not be able to avoid a bankruptcy filing.

"I believe they're heading straight to bankruptcy," she said.

Mayor Joan Faul could not be reached by Reuters for comment.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Jeff Mitchell / Reuters

An American Airlines jet pulls into the gate area at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in this file photo. AMR Corp, the parent company of American Airlines, filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to restructure debt.

American Airlines, the nation’s third-largest carrier, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, seeking the same route out of high debt and costs that many of its major rivals have taken in the past decade.

"The path ahead will be hard. But it's a well-worn path," newly-appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas W. Horton said Tuesday, at a news conference to discuss the move by the airline's parent company, AMR Corp.

The airline said it would be operating normal flight schedules and honoring tickets, as usual, during the process. It added its frequent flier program is not affected. "American expects to continue normal business operations throughout the reorganization process, and the business will continue to be operated by the company's management," AMR said in a statement. 

Bit airline industry analyst Seth Kaplan of Airline Weekly thinks otherwise. "Cuts will come," he said. "They’ve said everything is normal for now, but the cutting will surely start soon. They’ll reduce aircraft, employees and routes." 

AMR said it took the action so that it could "achieve a cost and debt structure that is competitive in the airline industry."

Many of American's rivals — among them Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways — have filed for bankruptcy reorganization over the past decade to address issues with debt and costs, especially labor and fuel costs. Reuters reported that wages and benefits for AMR's union workers are higher as a percentage of operating expenses than at its rivals. American is the only major airline that still must fund its workers' pensions.

The airline pilots union called the bankruptcy a "somber occasion."

"While today’s news was not entirely unexpected, it is nevertheless disappointing that we find ourselves working for an airline that has lost its way," Allied Pilots Association President Captain Dave Bates said in a statement.

"The 18-month timeline allotted for restructuring will almost certainly involve significant changes to the airline’s business plan and to our contract," he added.

"Labor is going to take a major hit. Their pensions are in danger," Darryl Jenkins, a consultant who has worked for the major airlines, told The Associated Press.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation estimated Tuesday that American Airlines' employees could lose up to $1 billion in benefits if the carrier terminated the plans in bankruptcy. Reuters reported that an American Airlines pension plan default would be the largest in U.S. history as its accounts are underfunded by $10 billion.

"A termination would also weaken the financial condition of PBGC, which has a record $26 billion deficit as a result of failed plans the agency has already assumed," PBGC Director Josh Gotbaum said in a statement.

Last month, the airline reported a third-quarter loss of $162 million, or 48 cents a share, due to higher jet fuel prices. Reuters said AMR listed assets of about $24.72 billion and liabilities of $29.55 billion. The company said it has $4.1 billion in cash.

"This was a difficult decision, but it is the necessary and right path for us to take — and take now — to become a more efficient, financially stronger, and competitive airline," Horton said in a statement. Horton, 50, was named CEO Tuesday, succeeding the company's long-time chief executive, 53-year-old Gerard Arpey, who told the company's board Monday that he would retire. 

Arpey received compensation valued at about $5.2 million in 2010, an 11 percent increase over 2009, according to an Associated Press analysis. The AP said that Arpey's increase was due mostly to higher values for stock options at the time they were granted. AMR reported a loss of $471 million in 2010.

"But as we have made clear with increasing urgency in recent weeks, we must address our cost structure, including labor costs, to enable us to ... secure our future," Horton added. 

Related story:

American bankruptcy to have little impact on fliers

Daniel Shanken/Reuters file

The Pennsylvania State Capitol Building as seen from State Street in Harrisburg, Pa., which in a desperate bid to resolve its debt crisis attempted to file for bankruptcy. A federal judge on Wednesday would not allow the filing.

Harrisburg, Pa., cannot file for bankruptcy to get out of its $300 million debt, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

The ruling paves the way for a state takeover of finances of the Susquehanna River city of 50,000.

The city in October became one of the most-high-profile cities to opt for the little used Chapter 9 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, most notably tapped nearly 20 years ago by Orange County, California.

But for Harrisburg, state law prevents authorization for using the Chapter 9, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary France said in Wednesday's ruling.

"We are certainly disappointed at the judge's ruling and while we respect her opinions we will take some time after Thanksgiving to determine whether we want to file an appeal," said Brad Koplinski, a city councilman who voted for bankruptcy.

"We still believe that bankruptcy is the best option for the taxpayers of Harrisburg."

Mark Schwartz, a Philadelphia-based attorney who represents the city council members who voted in favor of a filing, said he is "leaning" toward filing an appeal, but has not decided yet.

The Pennsylvania capital's crisis has been a year in the making.

The city's debt is tied to its nearly 40-year-old trash incinerator. Beset by environmental problems and fines for years, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shut it down in 2003 with about $100 million in debt already piled on it, some of which had gone to finance other city projects.

The filing was seen as a barometer for other municipalities seeking potentially to tap this option to deal with mounting debts.

Jefferson County, Alabama, earlier this month filed a $3 billion Chapter 9 petition, the largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy in history.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.