SERENA Williams’ childhood home – which has been in the family for 29 years – will be sold to pay off her stepmother’s colossal debt – but no other members will receive a penny.
The US Sun revealed last week that a court would decide whether Richard Williams’ wife Lakeisha would lose their Florida home.
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The four-bedroom property, estimated to be worth around $1.4 million, has been the sticking point of a protracted legal battle for many years.
“King” Richard, played by Will Smith in a Hollywood biopic, accused his third wife of forging his signature to transfer the deed into her name when he filed for divorce in 2017.
She claimed in court documents that she only did it because he let her and her son starve, which Richard’s legal team denied.
Lakeisha took out a $279,000 loan from a “tough creditor” named David Simon and was unable to pay it back, resulting in him hounding her through the courts for years.
Her debt currently stands at $436,113 with interest and legal fees – after she repeatedly failed to stick to a payment plan and ultimately lost her home.
Three years ago, a judge ordered the four-bedroom house to be sold at auction to pay off Simon and more than 20 other creditors.
But that final judgment was put on hold because Lakeisha filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy three times.
Each attempt was denied, the last being in May.
AUCTION DATE
While going through the legal bankruptcy process, Lakeisha was protected from creditors who sold her main asset, which she “stole” from her legendary tennis coach spouse.
Now, the judge has ordered the lifting of the bankruptcy suspension and the reactivation of Simom’s case.
This means there is nothing stopping the house from being sold.
Simon recently filed a motion to have the auction date set and the final judgment adjusted to reflect the change in how much Lakeisha owes him.
After the US Sun contacted the courts, it appears the judge has not yet ruled on this motion.
According to real estate websites, the property is worth between US$1.4 million and US$1.6 million, but it is not yet known whether it will fetch that amount at auction.
Richard purchased the property with his ex, Serena’s mother, Oracene, for $355,000 in 1995.
The auction date was last set for June 2021 and was listed with an appraisal of $866,817, according to off-market listing site PropertyOnion.
Currently, there is nothing stopping Lakeisha from filing for Chapter 13 again, but doing so would add more legal and court costs.
The US Sun made several calls for comment to his lawyer Sara Lawrence but received no response.
HUGE LOAN
She would also have to prove that her situation has changed and can afford to maintain a repayment plan.
If Lakeisha files again, her automatic stay – protection from creditors – will only last 30 days.
In Simon’s statement, he revealed that Lakeisha initially approached him for a loan after seeing a “for sale” sign on his $79,000 Volvo semi-tractor.
Simon said he would only sell the truck to Lakeisha if he had property as collateral.
The deed was transferred into her name and she ended up borrowing more than the initial loan amount.
Court documents from Lakeisha’s deposition showed that she had already forged Richard’s signature once so she could sell her 1999 Bluebird Wanderlodge Motor Coach, worth $45,000, to buy food for herself and her son Dylan.
“Mostly, I was broken by my husband [who] it didn’t help me. It was me and my son who didn’t make any money, so I had to sell it so I could eat and my son could eat… we had nothing,” she said.
Richard’s son, Chavoita LeSane, threatened more than a year ago to file an elder abuse lawsuit, which has yet to come to fruition.
He told The US Sun in an exclusive interview: “I don’t remember how long it’s been in the relationship since my dad started having financial headaches, like, ‘What’s happening with my Social Security checks?’
“Lakeisha took the Mercedes, took the bus, took money, what else was it?
‘TOGETHER AGAIN’
“There are so many things she stole or forged documents for him. This is considered elder abuse.
“We’re just putting it all together, it’s a lot. This whole situation has been frustrating.”
Richard, who married in 2010 and filed for divorce seven years later, called off the divorce in May.
His son claimed that they did not get back together and that he simply was unable to attend court due to health issues and reached a settlement with the judge but plans to refile the case.
However, Lakeisha’s lawyer claims they are now back in a “romantic and sexual relationship” and living together in their new home just minutes away, which is in their daughter Serena’s name.
“Richard Dove Williams and his wife Lakeisha Williams have a son and are raising him together,” said attorney Sara Lawrence.
“They are a family. Lakeisha works and Richard always takes care of his son.”
“Lakeshia and Richard Williams have a romantic and sexual relationship. With their son, they are family. They live together. They travel to Disney together as a family,” she continued.
Richard and Lakeisha Divorce Timeline
Photo credit: Getty
Richard Williams has wanted to finalize his divorce from Lakeisha Graham for years, but the case has dragged on amid a fight over the marital home.
The couple married in 2010, when Lakeisha was 32 and Richard was 69.
Williams is an active father to his son, Dylan, known as Junior, and has tried to maintain a good relationship with his ex despite the court case.
May 2017
- Richard filed for divorce from Lakeisha after seven years of marriage. He alleged in his complaint that she had forged her name on a deed transfer to his home and stolen his Social Security checks.
March 2020
- Court documents revealed excerpts from Lakeisha’s testimony, in which she admits to having forged her ex’s signature and also selling her 1999 Bluebird Wanderlodge Motor Coach, worth US$45,000. But she claimed she did it because he had starved her and her son, which her legal team denied.
February 2022
- Lakeisha told a judge that her stepdaughter Serena wanted to keep her out of the family home. She claimed a letter from the tennis star’s lawyers “threatening to change the locks” if she did not vacate the property. His legal team at the time did not respond to requests for comment.
June 2022
- Richard filed a $1 million lawsuit against Lakeisha, despite her claiming in court documents that they had reconciled and were sleeping together again, which he later denied.
July 2022
- Their home was valued at $1.45 million and was supposed to be auctioned off, but Lakeisha filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and put the sale on hold. The bankruptcy case was dismissed on July 5, but she filed for reinstatement claiming she had found money for a repayment plan. She was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt after taking out a huge loan from a lender and failing to repay it.
January 2023
- US Sun caught up with Richard for a world exclusive interview, in which he accused former stripper Lakeisha of “taking everything” and spending his money. Asked how he feels about the split, he said: “I just want a divorce. It’s been six years, man. Just a bunch of rubbish, rubbish, rubbish. [I’m] I’m tired of this rubbish now.” But he appeared no closer to finalizing the process and his case was dismissed by a judge.
August 2023
- It was revealed that Lakeisha was struggling to stick to her repayment plan as she fought to keep the house, where she allegedly lived, despite it needing extensive repairs.
April 2024
- Richard missed the hearing and testimony because he suffers from speech problems due to strokes and did not want to be misunderstood. As a result, he had the case dismissed, but plans to file again. Lakeisha tried for months to keep the house from being sold at auction by filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy three times, but each attempt failed. The pair’s divorce is expected to resume and drag on for months as she continues to live in the run-down house.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
