Reese Witherspoon's dad investigated over bigamy claims

London, June 1 (ANI): A Nashville judge has appointed a lawyer to investigate actress Reese Witherspoon's 70-year-old father who is accused of bigamy and possibly has dementia, according to documents released in a sealed court case.

Earlier this month, Witherspoon's mother, Betty Witherspoon, said her husband of 42 years, married another woman even though he remained wed to her.

The parents have been separated since 1996 but remain married and still attend family functions together, including their daughter's March 2011 wedding.

Betty Witherspoon said in court documents that she discovered that her husband married the other woman after reading a newspaper wedding announcement. She signed an affidavit saying that when she confronted her husband, he didn't know who the woman was or remember marrying her.

Betty Witherspoon has accused John Witherspoon's new wife, Tricianne "Patricia" Taylor, of taking out loans as Mrs John Witherspoon and changing his will.

"She vehemently denies those allegations," said Joe Brandon Jr, an attorney who represents Taylor.

"She's devastated, and we don't have any further comment."

Betty Witherspoon, a 63-year-old nurse at Vanderbilt University hospital and a retired Tennessee State professor, says in the court documents that she still loves her husband and fears for his safety. She has accused him of taking out large loans for money.

The documents say she no longer lives with her husband because of his "alcoholism, infidelity, overspending and hoarding."

Betty Witherspoon has asked a family court judge to annul the wedding between her husband and Taylor and to order her to leave all residences belonging to the family, return all possession she has acquired and pay all court costs, the Telegraph reported.

A hearing has been scheduled on June 25. (ANI)