Richard Simmons’ Family Denies Co-Trustee Removal Accusation by Housekeeper; ‘Her Actions Threaten to Harm…’
Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of death.
Richard Simmons’ passing on July 13 shocked the world but now what’s more shocking is the fight over his estate between his family, specifically his brother, Lenny, and his longtime housekeeper Teresa Reveles.
For the unversed, his housekeeper alleged that she was pressured to remove herself as a co-trustee of the late fitness guru’s estate and claimed that Lenny and his wife, Cathy misled her into giving up her role as she was mourning the loss of Richard.
On September 25, Wednesday, she filed a petition to regain her role as co-trustee of the deceased individual’s estate. Now, the family has reacted to this move by the Reveles with a statement to People magazine, via a spokesperson, Tom Estey.
The statement mentioned, “Richard’s message was always one of joy and positivity. He would be heartbroken to learn of Teresa’s greed and insulted that she would diminish their three decades of supposed friendship in such a public way.”
It added that the acclaimed fitness star’s legacy was threatened to be harmed via Reveles’s actions. They are working “hard to preserve” his legacy. The statement added that Richard took good care of his housekeeper and mentioned that she was an important beneficiary of his will.
It was claimed that she made an “informed decision” to not serve as a co-trustee of his estate, which does not have any effect on her status as a beneficiary at all. While addressing the allegation made against them, Estey said in the statement that they are entirely false and they have informed her counsel of those facts.
Estey continued, “Teresa’s request to be reinstated as co-trustee was declined because co-trustees must work together in the best interests of the estate, and Teresa has shown by her actions that she does not share those interests.”
It was also claimed that currently, which is two months after his passing, she is staying at his residence, even though she has her own house. It was also claimed that she has tried to charge the estate for her living expenses. The family learned that a documentary was pitched to Netflix that identifies Reveles as the main source and a contributing person which they think would be “hurtful” to the legacy of Richard.
The statement added that it seems that Reveles’s intentions are to “waste the assets of the estate, which otherwise would go to the beneficiaries, to pursue meritless and pointless litigation. When the court is apprised of the facts that already have been given to Teresa’s attorney, we are confident that the court will deny the petition.”
In her petition, Reveles has requested the court to prohibit Richard’s brother from profiting from his image and likeness until this issue is resolved.
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