United Kingdom, Feb. 18 -- James Van Der Beek is unlikely to have had a "piece of the profit" from Dawson's Creek.

The actor passed away on February 11, aged 48, and despite his success on the hit TV show, James experienced financial troubles towards the end of his life.

An industry source explained to People: "It's exceedingly rare for actors to get backend percentage points on the show, so he likely had no piece of the profit participation and only got paid his episodic fee for the show.

"Even with a big hit, most TV stars just get bigger episodic fees when renegotiating their contract. It's a writer's medium, so the show's creators and producers get most of the backend traditionally."

James' family launched a GoFundMe page shortly ...