O.J. Simpson Estate Executor Wants Permission to Auction His Belongings

O.J. Simpson has some debts he needs to pay off in the afterlife -- which is why the executor to his estate is asking a judge to give him the greenlight to hawk his stuff.

Malcolm LaVergne -- who went from being O.J.'s longtime lawyer to now running his affairs in death -- just filed new docs that seek permission to sell certain items that were in O.J.'s possession at the time of his death ... which LaVergne says might be of great public interest.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, MLV notes that some of these items amount to potential memorabilia, which may fetch a pretty penny if put up for sale ... which is why he wants the OK to get into business with some auction houses.

Some of the stuff LaVergne is trying sell ... O.J.'s Heisman Trophy -- which may or may not be authentic, he says -- as well as his golf clubs, his car and even his driver's license.

The reason LaVergne wants to fetch the highest price point for all this stuff ... maximizing O.J.'s estate's worth -- this with creditors and other interested parties in mind. In other words ... LaVergne wants to make a dent in the money O.J. owed at the time of his passing.

Like we said, LaVergne is seeking explicit permission to broker contracts with dudes who know all about this. Unclear if there's a whole treasure of O.J. things up for grabs here -- but at the very least, there's the crap he mentioned ... which he sees as potentially valuable.

He might be on to something ... TMZ already reported that O.J. memorabilia was already flying off the shelves when word of his death came down -- and seeing how these things were personally owned by O.J., they might in fact attract collectors who are ready to pay.

LaVergne further tells TMZ ... "This is the beginning of closure, the best way I see fit as the executor. The money from the auction sales will go toward paying creditors, including Goldman if I can negotiate effectively with the other creditors."

He points out the Goldman family likely won't get the entire amount they've been after all these years -- but LaVergne says he's doing the best he can, and that a voluntary payment from O.J.'s estate might be a "Pyrrhic victory" ... although, he thinks it's better than nothing.

Like we told you ... the O.J. estate was recently hit with a $500k tax lien, which could hinder what the Goldmans and others are able to collect.