Chadwick Boseman’s Estate Dispute Heats Up

On July 17, family members of Chadwick Boseman took legal action to remove his widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, as the administrator of his estate.

Boseman, known for his role in “Black Panther,” passed away on August 28, 2020, at just 43 years old after a private battle with colon cancer. He left no will, and now, six years later, his estate is entangled in a contentious legal dispute.

His brothers, Derrick and Kevin, have filed a lawsuit on behalf of their parents, Leroy and Carolyn, against Ledward, asking that she be required to distribute assets to them.

Ledward reportedly inherited half of Boseman’s estate, with the expectation that she would share the other half equally with Leroy and Carolyn. However, legal documents claim she failed to distribute more than $3.8 million in assets as a court had ordered back in 2022.

“Nearly four years later, [Taylor] has still not distributed the estate,” the documents mention. Rather than distributing the funds, she allegedly maintains unilateral control over Boseman’s estate, which, according to the papers, denies the family any closure or involvement in decisions affecting Leroy and Carolyn’s interests.

The brothers claim that Ledward “failed to fully account” for Boseman’s assets, which include his royalties, intellectual property rights, and various other personal items. They pointed out discrepancies in her asset reporting, stating she declared $241,000 in an IRA and $3.3 million in stock for Chadwick Boseman, Inc., but failed to account for residual payments owed since Boseman’s passing.

“These rights properly belong to [Chadwick’s] heirs,” the filing asserts. Additionally, it claims that the assets are mainly managed by Chadwick Boseman, Inc., a company entirely under Ledward’s control, allowing her to profit from Boseman’s legacy.

The late actor’s brothers also alleged that Ledward “blocked” them from pursuing business opportunities that could benefit their elderly parents.