Although it has been six years since Marvel film Black Panther hero the late Chadwick Boseman passed away, the inheritance battle among his surviving family has turned into a mudslinging fight.
According to legal documents obtained by U.S. entertainment outlet Page Six on the 22nd (local time), Chadwick Boseman's two brothers (Derrick Boseman, Kevin Boseman) filed a lawsuit against Chadwick's wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, representing their parents Leroy and Carolyn Boseman.
The brothers asked the court to remove Taylor from her role as estate administrator and to order the immediate distribution of the parents' share of the assets.
Previously, in 2022 the court ruled that 50% of the more than $3.8 million in assets and cash left by Chadwick Boseman (approximately 520 million won) should go to his wife Taylor, and the remaining 50% should be evenly split between the parents at 25% each. That was because Chadwick Boseman died suddenly without leaving a will.
However, in papers filed in Los Angeles court on July 17, the brothers alleged that despite nearly four years since the court order, Taylor still has not distributed the estate. They went on to say that Taylor is exercising unilateral control over the estate and is preventing their elderly in-laws from participating in estate matters or having closure of mind.
The brothers even alleged that Taylor did not disclose her husband's assets transparently and hid some of them.
They raised their voices, saying that Taylor omitted numerous assets such as the deceased's royalties, residuals (earnings), likeness and intellectual property rights (IP), real estate, and previously undisclosed secret bank accounts. In particular, they pointed out that many residual payments paid by the Screen Actors Guild‑American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG‑AFTRA) from 2020 to the present were not included in official accounting reports.
The brothers said that Boseman's likeness and IP are being monopolized through Chadwick Boseman Inc., a corporation that Taylor currently fully controls and from which she is profiting, and stressed that this right rightfully should go to the heirs, including the parents.
Finally, the brothers said Taylor's opaque conduct is sufficient to raise suspicion that she is trying to hide assets from the court and the deceased's family, expressing outrage. Taylor's side has not expressed any position on this matter.
Meanwhile, Chadwick Boseman, who was loved worldwide for his roles in films such as Black Panther and 42, died at age 43 on Aug. 28, 2020, after battling colon cancer, delivering a great shock and sadness to fans.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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