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Chadwick Boseman's brothers Kevin Boseman and Derrick Boseman filed a lawsuit on behalf of their family against his widow Taylor Simone Ledward, claiming she failed to distribute his estate.
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Chadwick Boseman’s family is disputing over his estate.
Nearly six years after the Black Panther actor died of colon cancer, his brothers Kevin Boseman and Derrick Boseman filed a lawsuit on behalf of their parents to suspend and remove Chadwick’s widow Taylor Simone Ledward as the administrator of his estate, according to the filing obtained by E! News.
E! News has reached out to Taylor’s attorney for comment but has not yet heard back.
In the docs, Kevin and Derrick allege that Taylor has not properly distributed the late actor’s assets, including more than $3.8 million in cash and other assets, despite a 2022 court order to distribute 25 percent of his estate to each of Chadwick’s parents Leroy Boseman and Carolyn Boseman.
“Nearly four years later, [Taylor] has still not distributed the estate,” the July 17 filing read. "[Taylor] continues to exert unilateral control over Decedent’s estate, denying Decedent’s family long overdue closure or participation in decision-making regarding matters affecting Leroy and Carolyn’s interests in Decedent’s estate.”
Taylor listed Chadwick’s total worth as including $151,000 in cash, $241,000 in an IRA account and $3.3 million worth of stock for Chadwick Boseman, Inc. And according to the 2022 court order, included in the filing, the court found that Taylor's list of his assets was "true and correct" and noted that she waived her administrator's fee.
But Kevin and Derrick allege in the filing that Taylor “failed to fully account” for Chadwick’s assets, alleging his estate actually includes more assets such as “royalties and residuals, image and intellectual property rights, real property, a previously undisclosed bank account” and other personal property.
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Plus, the brothers allege that Taylor “failed to officially account for” numerous residual payments from SAG-AFTRA since 2020 that should have been distributed, per the 2022 court order.
Finally, Chadwick’s family claims that Taylor is not distributing the rights to Chadwick’s image and intellectual property.
“These rights properly belong to Decedent’s heirs,” the filing stated, “but are ostensibly managed by Chadwick Boseman, Inc., a corporate entity completely controlled by [Taylor] and through which she continues to profit from Decedent’s fame.”
As such, Chadwick’s family alleged that Taylor has “blocked” them from “pursuing lucrative business opportunities that might benefit Decedent’s elderly parents.”
Kevin and Derrick claim that Taylor’s handling of Chadwick’s estate “creates the appearance that she is concealing assets from Decedent’s family and from the Court” and have requested that the court compel her to properly distribute the late actor’s estate and remove her as the administrator of it.
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