Nearly six years after the death of ‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman, his family has now filed a lawsuit, seeking 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 suit on July 17 on behalf of their parents, Leroy Boseman and Carolyn Boseman, alleging that Ledward has failed to distribute his assets in accordance with a court order.
Family alleges 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 as per a 2022 court order, directing that 25% of the estate be allocated to each of his parents.The lawsuit alleges, “Nearly four years later, [Taylor] has still not distributed the estate, [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.”
Chadwick Boseman’s USD 3.8 million estate
According to court records, Ledward previously listed Boseman’s estate as consisting of approximately USD 151,000 in cash, USD 241,000 in an IRA account, and USD 3.3 million in stock belonging to Chadwick Boseman, Inc.The 2022 court order reportedly found her inventory of the estate to be “true and correct.” Ledward also waived her administrator’s fee.
Claims of undisclosed assets
However, Boseman’s 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 and intellectual property rights, real estate, a previously undisclosed bank account and other personal property.The filing further claims that Ledward has not accounted for multiple SAG-AFTRA residual payments received since 2020, which, according to the family, should have been distributed under the court’s earlier ruling.
Dispute over image rights
Another key issue highlighted in the lawsuit, concerns Boseman’s image and intellectual property rights. In their suit, the family alleges, “These rights properly belong to Decedent’s heirs, 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.”The family further alleges that Ledward has prevented them from pursuing business opportunities involving Boseman’s legacy that could benefit his elderly parents.
Family seeks Ledward’s removal
Kevin and Derrick Boseman argue that Ledward’s handling of the estate “creates the appearance that she is concealing assets from Decedent’s family and from the Court.” The lawsuit asks the court to compel Ledward to distribute the estate in accordance with the 2022 order and remove her as administrator.Chadwick Boseman died in August 2020 at the age of 43 following a private four-year battle with colon cancer. The actor, best known for portraying King T’Challa in Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Panther’, died without leaving a will, leading to ongoing probate proceedings over his estate.
