Richard Williams One Step Closer to Divorce

Venus and Serena Williams' father, Richard Williams, is one step closer to divorcing his estranged third wife after a judge orders the former couple into mediation...

From The Sun

SERENA Williams’ stepmom is desperately trying to cling onto her marriage with the ex-tennis coach “King Richard” despite the allegations that she tried to steal his crumbling home, court papers show.

Former stripper Lakeisha Williams, 45, was first served divorce papers six years ago and the pair have been embroiled in a legal battle since, which is still going through courts in Florida.

Lakeisha is accused of faking his signature on the title deeds to his Palm Beach, Florida, home and transferring it in her name.

She allegedly borrowed $279,000 from so-called hard lender David Simon, using the four-bed house as collateral, and blew the lot on a failed trucking business and fast food and frivolities, per court docs seen by The U.S. Sun.

Lakeisha allegedly failed to keep up with the repayment plan, prompting Simon to file a lawsuit.

Richard, 81, is determined to press ahead with the divorce case.

Lakeisha claimed in June that Richard was under duress from a third party and filed a motion to try and get the case dismissed.

But, two months later, his affidavit revealed he wanted to carry on with the dissolution.

In the latest update, Judge James Martz agreed to Richard’s motion to compel Lakeisha to attend mediation and depositions, court logs, seen by The U.S. Sun revealed.

Lakeisha filed for a rehearing but this request was denied.

Richard’s lawyers want to quiz Lakeisha about her finances.

For years, Lakeisha failed to pay any of the debt off, which stood at one point at $620,000 including attorney fees and interest.

She has also tried to declare bankruptcy twice but failed.

Lakeisha has agreed to a repayment plan, which is $9,161 for the first 18 months, $13,308 for the next 11 months, and $12,731 for the remaining 31 months.

Back in May it looked like the pair had put their troubles behind them and reunited after Lakeisha posted two photos of them together on Instagram.

The snaps showed them driving on a family day out with their son Dylan, 12, and also posing arm-in-arm.

But Richard filed an affidavit in August that he wanted to proceed with the dissolution.

The pair met while Lakeisha was a Miami nightclub dancer called Angel and is nearly half Richard’s age at 45.

Earlier this month, Lakeisha celebrated her birthday with a wild night out with pals.

She posted pictures which showed her dressed in a black corset underneath a sequined see-through dress, wiggling her bum in one shot and posing in front of a luxury car in another.

Meanwhile in a selfie posted on Facebook, Richard looked very frail.

He has had at least two strokes, and his doctor, Monica Walker, has said he has dementia and irreparable brain damage.

In a letter to the courts that assessed Richard’s health, Dr. Walker wrote: “The complications after the stroke included the inability to remember things that happened recently and incidents that happened years ago.

"You will remember, immediately after the stroke, your muscles weakened and slowly you were able to regain strength. You also have problems speaking and finding the right word to use.”

Richard and his son Chavoita LeSane have also claimed Lakeisha has sold cars behind his back and cashed in his social security checks.

Chavoita said: “I can't remember how long it was into the relationship as far as my dad starting to have financial headaches, like, 'What's going on with my social security checks?'

"Lakeisha took the Mercedes, she took the bus, she took money, what else was it? The motorcycle.

"There are so many things that she stole or forged documents for him. That's considered elder abuse.

"We're just putting all of it together, it's a lot. This whole situation has been frustrating.”

LeSane now has power of attorney over Richard Williams' estate.

Back in September, Lakeisha almost lost the four-bedroom home in Palm Beach after falling behind on payments, but she was given another stay in bankruptcy court and was allowed to keep it.