The actor’s brothers Chadwick BosemanDerrick and Kevin, filed a lawsuit against the widow of the Black Panther protagonist, Taylor Ledwardfor not having distributed his inheritance four years after a court ordered him to do so. The documents were filed on July 17 in Los Angeles and were published by the media Page Six.
According to court documents, Ledward inherited 50% of the actor’s estate, valued at more than 3.8 million dollars. The remaining 50% had to be distributed equally between Boseman’s parents – Leroy and Carolyn -, with 25% for each one. The original order dates back to 2022 and, according to the filing, was never carried out.
«Almost four years later, [Taylor] he has not yet distributed the inheritance«, reads one of the passages from the documents cited by Page Six. The brothers also maintain that the widow «continues to exercise unilateral control over the estate» of the actor, depriving the family of «long-delayed closure» and participation in decisions that affect the interests of their parents.
The lawsuit also questions the economic management of the actor’s assets. Derrick and Kevin point out that Ledward «failed to fully account» for Boseman’s assets, including royalties, image and intellectual property rights, a property, a previously undeclared bank account and other personal assets.
In 2022, Ledward herself had declared in court that her husband’s assets included $241,000 in a retirement account, 3.3 million dollars in shares of Chadwick Boseman, Inc. and $151,000 in cashfigures that the court validated as correct at that time. However, the brothers maintain that their sister-in-law failed to account for «numerous SAG-AFTRA residual payments» accumulated between 2020 and the present.
They accuse Ledward of profiting from the actor’s image through a commercial partnership
One of the most sensitive points of the demand points to the image and intellectual rights of the interpreter. The brothers claim that these rights «rightfully belong to the heirs» of Boseman and that they are administered by Chadwick Boseman, Inc., a company that, they claim, is «completely controlled» by Ledward and «through which she continues to profit from the fame» of the late actor.
Derrick y Kevin They further maintain that the widow «blocked» them from pursuing «lucrative business opportunities that could benefit Chadwick’s elderly parents.» The court filing does not specify what those opportunities were.
In the documents, the brothers warned that Ledward’s «lack of transparency» about the estate «creates the appearance that he is hiding assets from the family and the court.» Until the time of the report Page SixLedward’s legal representation did not respond to that outlet’s request for comment, and neither did Derrick and Kevin’s attorneys.
Boseman passed away on August 28, 2020 at age 43, after a private and prolonged battle with colon cancer. A central fact of the succession conflict is that the actor died without leaving a will, which complicated the distribution of his assets from the beginning.
The actor was recognized worldwide for his role as King T’Challa in the Marvel cinematic universe, and his works continue to generate royalties and commercial rights that, according to his brothers, are not being administered transparently or equitably for all heirs.
