Chadwick Boseman's family sues his widow Taylor Simone Ledward over his estate
Taylor Simone Ledward, the widow of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, is being sued by the actor's family.
Kevin and Derrick, Boseman's two brothers, have filed a petition to have Ledward removed as estate administrator.
In Los Angeles court documentation obtained by PEOPLE this week, the pair claim Boseman's wife has repeatedly failed to properly distribute his assets in the six years since he tragically died following a colon cancer diagnosis.
Boseman hadn't publicly discussed his ailing health before his sudden death, despite receiving an initial diagnosis in 2016, and 'only a handful of non-family members' had even been informed he'd fallen sick, with 'varying degrees of knowledge', as per The Hollywood Reporter.
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He died, aged 43, on 28 August 2020 following complications after the disease reached stage IV, with his family by his side.
Now, his brothers are requesting that Ledward be stripped of her estate administration responsibilities and that the position be transferred to a family member.
"She continues to exercise complete control over his estate without input from Leroy and Carolyn," Kevin and Derrick allege in their legal filing, referencing Boseman's mother and father, who are supposedly entitled to 25% of the film star's estate.
The brothers acknowledge, however, that Ledward is entitled to half of her late husband's estate, given that he died without having prepared a will six days after their 2020 wedding.
Their complaint adds that they issued Ledward with a 'Final Order' to distribute Boseman's assets - which include a $40,000 Life Long-Term Care Policy for his mother, Carolyn - in 2022. They also cited several items beyond the bank accounts and care policy already acknowledged, including 'royalties and residuals, image and intellectual property rights, real property, a previously undisclosed bank account at CNB, and other personal property'.
They say, however, that she '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'.
Kevin and Derrick went on to claim their sister-in-law's 'lack of transparency creates the appearance that she is concealing assets from Decedent’s family and from the Court'.
They say the Long-Term Care Policy for Carolyn was never rolled out, and that one of Boseman's bank accounts - as well as his IRA - have remained 'inexplicably open', despite the contents of both remaining unclear.
The brothers' complaint also alleges 'numerous residual payments from SAG-AFTRA dating between 2020 and the present' are unaccounted for, and that unclaimed property belonging to Chadwick was never 'marshalled, accounted for, or distributed'.
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