Nearly six years after Chadwick Boseman’s death, a bitter dispute has broken out within his family, as the late “Black Panther” star’s brothers, Kevin and Derrick Boseman, have filed a petition in a Los Angeles court seeking to remove his widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, as administrator of his estate.
The filing, submitted last week and obtained by multiple outlets including People, TMZ, and ABC News, accuses Ledward of failing to fulfill her obligations under a 2022 court order that named Ledward administrator of Boseman’s estate following his death without a will.
That order established that Boseman’s parents, Leroy and Carolyn, were legally entitled to a combined 50 percent share of the estate, with the remaining half going to Ledward.
According to the petition, that division has never been properly carried out. The brothers allege that nearly four years after the order, Ledward has still not distributed the estate nor filed a petition for discharge with the required receipts.
Instead, they claim, she “continues to exert unilateral control over Decedent’s estate, denying Decedent’s family long overdue closure or participation in decision-making.”
Among the specific grievances: the long-term care policy meant for Carolyn Boseman has reportedly still not been transferred, and the brothers say the family has been left “without funds and insurance they’re entitled to,” which they claim has also blocked Chadwick’s parents from pursuing business opportunities tied to his legacy and caused them emotional distress.
The petition goes further than the original reporting suggested, putting a number on the estate’s scale.
Court documents reviewed by E! News show the estate includes more than $3.8 million in cash and other assets, with Ledward’s own accounting listing $151,000 in cash, $241,000 in an IRA account and $3.3 million in stock tied to Chadwick Boseman, Inc. The 2022 court order had found that inventory was “true and correct” and noted Ledward had waived her fee as administrator.
But Kevin and Derrick argue that figure doesn’t tell the full story, alleging Ledward “failed to fully account” for additional assets: royalties, residuals, image and intellectual property rights, real property, and a previously undisclosed bank account, along with SAG-AFTRA residual payments dating back to 2020 that they say were never properly reported.
The filing frames this lack of disclosure as suspicious in itself, suggesting Ledward’s opacity “creates the appearance” that she is concealing assets from both the family and the court while, the brothers claim, continuing to profit solely from Chadwick’s name and image.
The brothers say this isn’t a case of the family staying silent until now. They claim Ledward is well aware of their concerns, having received numerous pleas from them to resolve the matter before resorting to court action.
In terms of relief, the petition asks the court to hold Ledward in contempt for failing to follow the 2022 order, compel her to distribute the remaining assets, and require a full accounting of the estate within 30 days.
Beyond that, the brothers want her permanently removed as administrator, with attorney Jason Rubin appointed in her place, and want Ledward barred from signing any major contracts tied to the estate in the interim.
ABC News reports it has reached out to representatives for both Ledward and the Boseman brothers for comment; as of this report, neither side has issued a public statement. E! News says it has likewise reached out to Ledward’s attorney without a response.
Boseman died in August 2020 at age 43 after privately battling colon cancer for four years, a diagnosis he kept largely hidden from the public even as he continued filming. He married Ledward just six days before his death.
The case now heads back before the same Los Angeles probate court that installed Ledward as administrator in 2020, setting up what could become a protracted legal fight over the legacy and finances of one of Hollywood’s most beloved leading men.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Nearly six years after Chadwick Boseman’s death, his brothers are accusing his widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, of stonewalling a 2022 court order to split his estate, allegedly withholding his parents’ 25% share, failing to account for millions in assets, royalties, and residuals, and continuing to profit alone from his name and image.
They want her removed and replaced with a neutral fiduciary. Ledward has not publicly responded, and nothing has been proven in court; these are allegations, not findings.
