Stepmother sues Whitney Houston

(ABDELHAK SENNA/AFP/Getty Images)

Whitney Houston is being sued by her stepmother in a legal battle over the wishes of the singer's deceased father.

According to court records, Barbara Houston claims the 45-year-old star improperly kept the proceeds from John Houston's one million dollar insurance policy (£650,000) after he died in 2003.

The lawsuit says the singer was supposed to use 723,000 dollars (£468,000) to pay off the mortgage on her father's home in New Jersey. She still holds the mortgage on the property.

The stepmother, who still lives in the home, claims that Houston was also supposed to return the remaining insurance money to her.

Lawyers for the star, famed for songs such as I Will Always Love You and Saving All My Love For You, and her stepmother declined to comment on the legal action, which was filed in a Newark federal court.