Nearly six years after the death of ‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman, his family has now filed a lawsuit to remove his widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, as the administrator of his estate.According to court documents obtained by E! News, Boseman’s brothers, Kevin Boseman and Derrick Boseman, filed the lawsuit on July 17 on behalf of their parents, Leroy Boseman and Carolyn Boseman, alleging that Ledward has failed to distribute their assets in accordance with a court order.
The family alleges that the assets have not been distributed
In the filing, Boseman’s family claims that the actor’s widow did not properly distribute the actor’s estate according to a 2022 court order, which directed that 25% of the estate be allocated to each of his parents.The suit alleges: “Nearly four years later, [Taylor] has not yet distributed the estate, [Taylor] continues to exercise unilateral control over the decedent’s estate, denying the decedent’s family long-awaited closure or decision-making participation in matters affecting Leroy and Carolyn’s interests in the decedent’s estate.”
Chadwick Boseman’s $3.8 million estate
According to court records, Ledward previously listed Boseman’s estate as consisting of approximately $151,000 in cash, $241,000 in an IRA account and $3.3 million in stock belonging to Chadwick Boseman, Inc.According to the 2022 court order, his inventory of the estate was “true and correct.” Ledward also waived his admin fee.
Undisclosed property claims
However, the Boseman brothers now argue that the inventory was incomplete. The lawsuit alleges that Ledward failed to fully account for several additional assets, including royalties and residual payments, image rights and intellectual property, real estate, a previously undisclosed bank account and other personal property.Additionally, the filing claims Ledward has failed to account for several SAG-AFTRA residual payments received since 2020, which the family says should have been distributed based on the court’s earlier decision.
Image rights dispute
Another key issue highlighted in the lawsuit is Boseman’s image and intellectual property rights. In their lawsuit, the family alleges, “These rights properly belong to the heirs of the deceased, but are apparently managed by Chadwick Boseman, Inc., a corporate entity wholly controlled by [Taylor] and through which he continues to benefit from Decedent’s fame.”The family also alleges that Ledward has prevented them from pursuing business opportunities related to Boseman’s legacy that could benefit their elderly parents.
The family is calling for Ledward’s deportation
Kevin and Derrick Boseman argue that Ledward’s management of the estate “creates the appearance that he is hiding assets from the decedent’s family and the court.” The lawsuit asks the court to compel Ledward to distribute the property in accordance with the 2022 order and remove her as administrator.Chadwick Boseman died in August 2020 at the age of 43 after a four-year private battle with colon cancer. The actor, best known for playing King T’Challa in Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Panther,’ died without a will, leading to ongoing probate proceedings over his estate.