Nov 12, 2014 2 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A trial over veteran television actor Stephen Collins’ divorce was delayed Wednesday after his estranged wife’s attorney withdrew from the case hours before testimony was supposed to begin.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon, the presiding judge over divorce cases, granted a motion by attorney Larry Ginsberg to withdraw from the case.

Judge Mark Juhas, who was slated to preside over the trial, ordered the proceedings to be delayed until Jan. 5 to give Collins’ estranged wife Faye Grant time to find a new lawyer.

The former couple was scheduled to start an eight-day trial on how to divide their assets and how much spousal support Grant should receive.

Collins, who starred in the series “7th Heaven,” was not present in court. Grant represented herself at a hearing in which the trial was delayed and her estranged husband’s lawyer sought to reduce her spousal support payments.

The case was complicated by the release of audio in which the actor purportedly acknowledges molesting underage girls.

The recording was not authenticated by the Associated Press.

Collins, 67, lost roles as a result of the recording, including a $75,000 part in the upcoming film “Ted 2.”

His attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan said Wednesday the actor was also losing residual income on the “7th Heaven” series.

Kaplan said having Ginsberg withdraw hours before the trial’s start would be “visiting a terrible hardship on Mr. Collins.” He said the actor has spent $1 million already on attorneys’ and experts’ fees in the case, and the delay would probably cost him another $200,000.

The decades-old molestation allegations are being investigated by authorities in Los Angeles and New York. The actor was not charged.