Richard Simmons' brother Lenny Simmons responded to a court filing from his house manager Teresa Reveles, who claimed that she was coerced into giving up her role as "co-trustee" of Simmons' estate after his death due to accidental fall from his home in July.
After discovering Simmons unresponsive on his bedroom floor, Reveles called 911 and the fitness guru was declared dead.
In an statement to People Magazine on October 30, Lenny says,
"First, I am solely interested in protecting and maintaining my brother's legacy. It was never my intention to play this out in public, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I have been forced to do so."
Lenny Simmons added that he has filed papers with the court to "address and refute" Teresa's claims along with a brief summary of reasons he has declined the ex-house manager's request to serve as co-trustee.
More about Richard Simmons' legal battle
Lenny Simmons' response to Teresa Reveles comes after Richard Simmons' housemanager filed a petition against him on September 25 claiming that after "an open casket viewing of Richard's body", Lenny and his wife Cathy Simmons took her "directly to a meeting" to discuss financial affairs.
In the petition, Teresa calls Lenny's actions as a "nefarious scheme", since she is not a native English speaker and didn't know what she was signing while she was "at her most vulnerable" and grieving.
Teresa added that she was confused and wasn't clearly informed or advised about what the contents of the documents entailed.
Days after Teresa's court filing, Richard's family released a statement through Tom Estey, their longtime spokesperson revealing that they were "heartbroken to learn of Teresa's greed and insulted that she would diminish their three decades of supposed friendship."
"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. Her actions threaten to harm Richard's incredible legacy, which we are working hard to preserve."
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The family added that Richard Simmons took "impeccable care" of Teresa and made sure she was looked after, following his passing. They also claimed that she is a "significant beneficiary" of his will and made an "informed decision" to relinquish her role as co-trustee of the estate.
The family told People Magazine that they declined Teresa's request to reinstate her as co-trustee, since her request does not share the best interests of the estate.
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