Whitney Houston's stepmother is suing her over her late father's million-dollar life insurance policy.

Barbara Houston claims that the singer was supposed to use £468,000 ($723,000) of the £650,000 (£1,000,000) of the policy to pay her father's mortgage.

In court papers filed in Newark, New Jersey, Barbara, who has lived in the house since John Houston died in 2003, said Whitney improperly kept the inheritance and the remaining money should have been returned to her.

Lawyers for Houston and her stepmother refused to comment on the case.

Houston, 45, who enjoyed chart success in the 1980s with hits including I Wanna Dance With Somebody and I Will Always Love You, has not released a studio album since 2003.

She has reportedly been working on new music to be released next year and is rumoured to be one of the contestants on Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother in January, alongside ex-husband Bobby Brown.