Richard Simmons Brother & Housekeeper Battle Over Estate
The end of Richard Simmons’s life was mired in controversy. His housekeeper seemingly isolated and sheltered him from the world, including keeping him from longtime friends and family. Once he died, his housekeeper demanded to take control of his estate. Now, she is in battle with Simmons’s brother Leonard for control.
Here is a look at the current ongoing battle.
Richard Simmons Brother & House Manager Battling For Estate Control
During the last few years of Richard Simmons’s life, his housekeeper, Teresa Reveles, kept strong control over the fitness guru’s life. Many people wondered if he was safe and if Teresa isolated him, possibly against his will as he got older. This all came to a head when Richard appointed her a co-trustee with his brother Leonard Simmons before he died.
Teresa and Leonard are now fighting over his estate. According to Teresa, she was “misled” and “pressured” into signing the papers, which removed her as a co-trustee. She claims no one “read the document to Teresa or explained the meaning of it” before she signed it. English is not her first language.
She also said they misled her because “if she declined to serve, she would have no say in important decisions about Richard’s assets and legacy.” She says that Simmons wanted her to administer his trust as a longtime friend of 36 years. Teresa also claims that they made her sign the papers immediately after viewing the body in the funeral home.
Within days of Simmons’s burial in July, his brother Leonard “exerted exclusive control over the administration of Richard’s assets and made clear Theresa would have no role in the decision-making process.” In September, Teressa’s attorney said that Leonard “continues to refuse to provide any non-confidential explanation for this decision.”
What Is Richard Simmons’s Housekeeper’s Next Move?
Teresa Reveles’s attorneys have asked a judge to intervene in the matter of Richard Simmons’s estate. They asked a judge to appoint Teresa as a co-trustee of the trust again and to prevent Leonard from selling any of Simmons’s personal possessions or licensing his name and likeness until she has been re-appointed.
“Teresa’s petition speaks for itself. Teresa is seeking to carry out Richard’s wishes,” her attorney, Michael B. Garfinkel, said (via Today).
On the other side, Tom Estey, a spokesperson for the Simmons family, released a statement and slammed Teresa for her “greed.” He said that Richard always spoke about “joy and positivity,” and Teresa’s actions “diminish their three decades of supposed friendship in such a public way.”
Estey also said that Teresa still lives in Richard Simmons’s house and wants to use his estate money to pay for her living expenses. Finally, he said that Teresa had pitched a documentary about Simmons to Netflix.
Are you surprised that there is a battle for Richard Simmons’s estate between his manager and his family? Does it make sense based on his past few years of isolation and controversy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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