A legal dispute has erupted over the estate of Chadwick Boseman, with the actor’s parents seeking to remove his widow from the role of overseeing its assets.
Leroy and Carolyn Boseman accuse Simone Ledward Boseman of violating a court order that required funds to be distributed and of mismanaging the company holding Chadwick’s rights and earlier work. Their petition, filed in California state court, asks the court to hold her in contempt and to bar her from exercising unilateral control over estate property.
How the estate was divided
Boseman died in August 2020 of colon cancer without leaving a will. Under California law, his estate was split evenly between Ledward Boseman and his parents, with each side receiving 25 percent.
According to the filing, however, the distribution has not been completed. Ledward Boseman “has still not distributed the estate, nor has she filed a petition for discharge,” the petition says, adding that she continues to exercise “complete control” while excluding the actor’s family from decisions involving assets they also own.
Claims over missing funds and oversight
The petition says there is roughly $3.8 million in the estate, including cash, retirement accounts, a long-term care insurance policy and Chadwick Boseman Inc., the company tied to the actor’s name and intellectual property.
It also alleges that some assets owed to the family were never transferred and that residual payments from SAG-AFTRA and a previously undisclosed bank account were not properly accounted for. The $40,000 insurance policy belonging to Carolyn under a 2022 court order, for instance, was never distributed.
Dispute over Chadwick Boseman Inc.
The conflict also centers on Chadwick Boseman’s image and intellectual property rights. Those rights are managed by Chadwick Boseman Inc., which Ledward Boseman and the actor’s parents each own 50 percent of.
The petition claims Ledward Boseman kept other family members in the dark about the company’s operations and appointed herself CEO without holding board meetings. It further alleges that she used her control over the estate and the company to enter contracts assigning Chadwick’s rights and prior works, including a deal with Words + Pictures Productions for a documentary about the actor’s life. Another agreement involves a contract for production of “Deep Azure,” written by Chadwick.
“By holding herself out as the sole authority over Decedent’s assets, she is defrauding anyone she contracts with and puts those agreements at risk of recission,” the petition filed on July 17 states. “Meanwhile, Petitioners are blocked from pursuing lucrative business opportunities that might benefit Decedent’s elderly parents. Her continued control over the estate also sows distrust among the beneficiaries and harms the well-being of Decedent’s aging parents.”
What Boseman’s parents want
In addition to asking that she be removed as administrator, Boseman’s parents are seeking an order requiring Ledward Boseman, who did not respond to a request for comment, to provide a full accounting of every transaction made since she was appointed administrator in 2020.
