The suit claims the singer’s stepmother needs to cough up the funds in exchange for past due mortgage, tax, and condo association payments on a Fort Lee, N.J., condominium where Barbara Houston has lived since 1987.

Whitney issued the mortgage loan to her late father, John Houston, to purchase the condo. She says she was still owed most of the principal and all of the interest when he died in 2003.

Barbara’s original lawsuit claimed the singer improperly kept proceeds from John’s $1 million insurance policy. She said $723,000 of Whitney’s insurance money was supposed to go towards providing her with a clear title. A lawyer for Barbara says there was a verbal understanding that the condo belonged to his client.

 Oh, and one more thing – an attorney for the singer says nobody should feel sorry for her stepmother as she’s not a poor, elderly widow. Barbara Houston is 47 years old – only two years older than Whitney – and the attorney says the singer shouldn’t have to subsidize her stepmother’s living expenses.

Read the AP articles here and here.