Howard was in L.A. County Superior Court today to deal with his exceptionally nasty divorce from Michelle Ghent Howard ... and was ordered to shell out more than $50,000 to hold her over until they hammer out a long-term arrangement.

As TMZ previously reported, Terrence HATES Michelle with a passion ... claiming she often called him a "n**ger" ... tried to extort him ... and even threatened to have him killed by "The Russians."

Michelle also HATES Terrence ... and claims he violently assaulted her on numerous occasions since they tied the knot back in 2010.

Here's the breakdown ... the judge ruled that Michelle needs:
-- $10k in temporary support for rent, food, etc.
-- $20k so she can pay her lawyers
-- $20 so she can pay her accountants
-- and $1,800 per month for her Range Rover car payments