Serena Williams’ stepmom Lakeisha Williams and father Richard Williams have had an ongoing legal battle for a while. It is over the Serena and Venus’ childhood home. As per sources, she acquired the house by allegedly forging King Richard’s signature. Since then, Lakeisha Williams has been given a lot of chances to repay the loan but has failed to do so once again, with a shortage of around $13,000.

The pair hit the news after their conflicting statements on the divorce proceedings surfaced. While Lakeisha insisted upon their continued relationship, Serena Williams’ father remained bent on proceeding with the divorce. “I do not wish to reconcile,” he said.

Is Serena Williams’ stepmom unable to pay the debt?

The four-bedroom home in Palm Beach, Florida, was taken over by Serena’s stepmom after she allegedly forged Richard’s signature. As per ‘The Sun’, since then, she has been asked to pay the loan and debt associated with the house but has not been able to do so. And now, the last payment bounced.

Over the last year and a half, she has paid $171,486. And now she needs to pay $13,197 more, which she could not. Her lawyer Elias Dsouza has, however, said that she would pay the loan, and it was an honest mistake.

She further added, “The debtor is a single mother who drives a semi-truck to earn a living. Suffice it to say, she is not one of the more sophisticated kind of debtors, and to her detriment relies on others to inform her of the plan payments.”

Elias Dsouza has also suggested a new plan of payment for Lakeisha which includes that she would pay the pending amount in 5 years. This includes paying $9,161 for 18 months. Then she would pay $13,308 for a month. Lastly, she would go on for 41 months with the payment of $12,731.

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But that is not the only battle for Lakeisha. In May 2023, King Richard restarted his battle for divorce with her once again.

Richard Williams and Lakeisha Williams to battle once again for divorce

Richard Williams,81, has been trying to divorce Lakeisha,44, since 2017. When they got married in 2009, Serena and Venus’ childhood home became their residence. They met in Miami, where she was a dancer at a club and started dating and eventually got married.

On August 21, 2023, Richard Williams requested a divorce in Palm Beach County, Florida, and claimed their marriage was “irretrievably broken.” However, Lakeisha claimed he was doing so because of “undue influence from third parties.”

Richard suffers from dementia and has had two strokes. He is living in a house owned by his daughter, Serena Williams. He is also being cared for by his son Chavoita LeSane.

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