While Garvey was imprisoned, Ashwood launched a legal challenge against his divorce from her. Had the divorce been found void then his marriage to Jacques would have been invalid. The court ruled in favor of Garvey, recognising the legality of his divorce. With Garvey absent, William Sherrill became acting head of UNIA. To deal with the organization's financial problems, he re-mortgaged Liberty Hall to pay off debts and ended up selling off the "SS Brooker T Washington" at a quarter of what UNIA had paid for it.