Chadwick Boseman's widow slams family lawsuit as a 'PR stunt' amid estate dispute
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Chadwick Boseman’s widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, is pushing back against the late actor’s brothers, Kevin Boseman and Derrick Boseman, amid the ongoing dispute over his estate.
According to new court documents obtained by Page Six, Ledward described their legal efforts as a "public relations (PR) stunt" that she claims is intended to "smear" her reputation in the press.
Ledward’s lawyer called the lawsuit a “baseless attack by Chadwick’s brothers (who are not among Chadwick’s legal heirs) cloaked with authority by their ailing parents (who, along with Simone, are the rightful heirs),” urging the court that “(This lawsuit) must be denied.”
The dispute comes nearly six years after Chadwick's death, with his brothers petitioning a Los Angeles court to remove Ledward from her role as administrator.
Chadwick Boseman’s widow says family lawsuit is 'replete with falsehoods'
As per the outlet, the filing was made on Thursday, September 24, as Ledward refuted allegations made by Derrick and Kevin in their July lawsuit concerning the distribution of her late husband’s estate, as ordered by a court in 2022.
According to Chadwick's widow, she has distributed every penny except for an account that was blocked by the brothers themselves. In a legal response, Ledward’s lawyer, Adam Streisand, wrote, “Simone has not only complied with the Order, but as a product solely of her own extraordinary generosity, she has gone well beyond what was required of her.”
“Simone’s generosity has been both financial and collaborative. She has always included the Boseman family in her efforts to ensure Chadwick’s memory would endure and flourish long after her husband’s tragic and untimely death,” the papers further state.
“This is how the family repays her: a Petition replete with falsehoods under oath, purposefully used as a public-relations stunt to smear Simone in the tabloid press, not to mention the collateral damage it has caused to her husband’s legacy,” they add.
Chadwick Boseman's brothers claim Taylor Simone Ledward is yet to distribute estate to parents
Ledward's lawyer said that she has “distributed all of the assets of Chadwick’s Estate save one account Petitioners themselves blocked from distribution." The assets include $151,558.00 in a Bank of America account, 100 shares of Chadwick Boseman, Inc. valued at $3,396,969.00, a $40,000 life insurance policy, another bank account containing $241,180.75, and even “Unclaimed property, valued at $0.88.”
Per the court papers, “Simone voluntarily gifted more than $300,000 of her own funds to Derrick’s four children. Simone’s generosity is hardly consistent with an administrator who is blocking the final distribution of the Estate to deprive Petitioners’ parents of what they’re entitled to, as Petitioners would have this Court believe.”
In their July lawsuit, Derrick and Kevin alleged that Ledward, who inherited 50% of Chadwick's estate, was to distribute the other half equally between Chadwick’s parents, with each of them receiving 25%, and that “nearly four years later, (Ledward) has still not distributed the estate.”
Chadwick died in August 2020 at the age of 43 following a private, years-long battle with colon cancer.
