Vanessa Amorosi is suing her mother for full ownership of two properties. Image credit: Alpha, Flickr
Australian singer-songwriter Vanessa Amorosi is suing her mother for full ownership of two properties bought as a result of her success.
This includes one property located in Narre Warren Melbourne and the other in California.
Amorosi claims that her mother, Joyleen Robinson, took control of her finances from the early days of her career.
It is reported that Robinson set up a trust fund in 1999 to receive the income from Amorosi’s music career.
At the time Amorosi was 17 and her career had begun to take off with the release of her debut single “Have a Look”.
On Thursday, Amorosi presented evidence to the court and claimed that her mother told her “not to trust anyone but her with her finances”.
“She was very fearful of people wanting to steal the money,” said Amorosi.
She claims that approximately $650,000 from her trust was used to purchase the Narre Warren home in 2001.
The singer said she had never seen the property before Robinson bought it and put her down as co-owner.
“When I first saw the house, I was a little disappointed. I didn’t want a massive house like that,” Amorosi told the court.
The property still has both Amorosi and Robinson listed as joint owners.
Amorosi is seeking either full ownership of the home or to hold more than 50 per cent.
She is also seeking full ownership of the California house she currently resides in.
She denies that the house was bought as a gift for her mother.
In 2014, Amorosi had to sell her first home in the United States after she was unable to afford the repayments.
She confronted her mother about the missing money, claiming that there were years where she made “millions of dollars”.
“I couldn’t get the answers to what had really gone down and why I was losing my house,” Amorosi said.
“She said I spent all the money and I should come home and get to work.”
Amorosi said it started “a war” between the family.
Robinson continues to deny the claims made against her.
Justice Steven Moore has encouraged the parties to come to an agreement.
The trial is ongoing.
