Richard Simmons’ family is refuting claims made by his longtime home manager that the late fitness guru’s estate coerced her into stepping down as a co-trustee.
On Wednesday, September 25, Teresa Reveles, who has been Simmons’ home manager and friend for 36 years, submitted a petition to reinstate herself as a co-trustee for the estate.
According to Reveles, Simmons’ brother Lenny and his wife Cathy deceived her into giving up the part while she was grieving over Richard. Lenny is Richard’s co-trustee and beneficiary.
Tom Estey, a Simmons family representative, supplied PEOPLE with an exclusive statement in response to Reveles’ petition.
“Richard’s message was consistently one of pleasure and optimism. He would be heartbroken to learn of Teresa’s greed and embarrassed that she would publicly undermine their three-decade-old relationship. Her actions jeopardize Richard’s wonderful legacy, which we are working hard to protect,” the statement continues.
According to the statement, Richard took impeccable care of Teresa and ensured her well-being even after his passing. “She is a key beneficiary of his will. She made a wise choice by declining to serve as co-trustee of the estate, and this decision did not impact her status as a beneficiary.
The claims in the petition are absolutely and clearly incorrect, and we have notified her lawyers of this fact. Teresa’s request to be reinstated as co-trustee was denied because co-trustees must collaborate in the best interests of the estate, and Teresa has demonstrated that she does not share those interests.”
Even now, two months after his death, she is staying in his house despite having her own home, and she has sought to bill the estate for her living expenses. Netflix has proposed a documentary featuring Teresa as the primary source and contributor, a move we believe could negatively impact Richard’s legacy.
Unfortunately, Teresa appears to seek to waste the estate’s assets, which would otherwise be distributed to the beneficiaries, by pursuing meritless and fruitless litigation. Teresa’s counsel has already received the facts, and we are confident the court will deny the petition.
Reveles petitioned the court to prevent Lenny from profiting from Richard’s image and likeness until the case was settled. She remains a beneficiary of Richard’s estate.
PEOPLE has contacted Reveles’ lawyers for comment on the Simmons family statement.
Richard died on the morning of July 13, two days after falling at his house. Reveles found Richard’s corpse in his bedroom and declared him dead immediately.
Simmons died from severe traumatic injuries, according to a press statement from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office on August 22. He had just turned 76 the day before.