Whitney Houston Sued by Stepmom

Chanteuse's stepmother claims Houston wrongfully kept her late dad's $1 million insurance payout

By Natalie Finn Dec 17, 2008 10:59 PMTags
Whitney HoustonZumaPress.com

Maybe Whitney Houston's dad wasn't saving all his money for her.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court, the Grammy-winning diva's stepmother claims that Houston kept a $1 million insurance payout from her late father's estate that was supposed to go toward the mortgage on his New Jersey condo.

Barbara Houston states that her 45-year-old stepdaughter was supposed to fork over $723,000 for the mortgage, which is in Barbara's name, but instead kept the entire sum after John Houston's death in 2003.

And then, after paying the mortgage, Houston was supposed to return the rest of the money to her stepmom, as well, the suit claims.

Lawyers for both sides refused to comment on the pending suit.

Houston, whose personal and financial issues in recent years are well-documented, has reportedly been busy working on her seventh studio album, tentatively titled Undefeated. The long-gestating comeback was supposed to drop in November but has since been pushed back to 2009. 

Proof that she's singing, though: The tune "Like I Never Left," featuring Akon, was leaked online in July, and Arista honcho Clive Davis says that the album will also include collaborations with Will.i.am and Sean Garrett.