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Chadwick Boseman's widow Taylor Simone Ledward Boseman has furiously responded to his brothers amid their legal war over his estate.
The Black Panther star secretly battled colon cancer before he died aged 43 with no will on August 28, 2020, six days after marrying Simone, whom he had been involved with at that point for half a decade.
His brothers, Kevin and Derrick Boseman, submitted legal documents this July requesting that Simone be relieved of her duties as the administrator of his $3.8 million estate, arguing she has not fulfilled her obligations in the role.
According to the brothers, half the assets were meant to go to Simone, while 25 percent apiece was meant to go to each of Chadwick's parents, Leroy and Carolyn.
However Kevin and Derrick alleged that Simone had 'never fully distributed' the money and had failed to be transparent with the Boseman family about business details pertaining to the estate.
This Wednesday, Simone filed a bristling objection obtained by the Daily Mail, denouncing the 'baseless' claims made by her brothers-in-law as a 'public-relations stunt' designed to 'smear' her in the media.
Her attorney Adam Streisand exclusively told the Daily Mail: 'What we proved was not merely that the brothers’ lawsuit was built on a flimsy house of lies, but that it was a shameless smear campaign—an especially shameful betrayal in light of Simone’s extraordinary generosity toward them.'
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Simone, Derrick and Kevin for comment.
Chadwick Boseman's widow Taylor Simone Ledward Boseman has furiously responded his brothers Derrick (left) and Kevin (right), whom she is pictured with last November
Simone insisted she 'distributed all of the assets' that she was meant to, with the sole exception of a $241,180.75 IRA that she was unable to disburse because the brothers themselves 'instructed the bank to place a hold' on the money.
'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,' said her objection, which was filed by Streisand, a top-flight litigator who is also a second cousin of Barbra Streisand.
'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.'
According to her filing, she was repaid with '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.'
Simone's objection argued that the '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) must be denied.'
In her court documents, she claimed Chadwick's family previously 'threatened' her with legal action over his money in a letter sent three months after his death.
She alleged that she received 'another disturbing and highly insensitive letter' from her in-laws while she was 'struggling with her grief' days after Chadwick's first death anniversary, via her legal filing.
In both cases, she is said to have responded to the family via Streisand, whereupon the matter was supposedly allowed to drop for the time being.
The Black Panther star secretly battled colon cancer before he died aged 43 with no will on August 28, 2020; Chadwick is pictured as T'Challa in the original Black Panther in 2018
Chadwick's widow insisted she has distributed all the estate assets she was required to, up to and including 'Unclaimed property' that was 'valued at $0.88.'
Among the larger sums she professed to have meted out were $151,558 from a Bank of America account; 100 shares of the late actor's Chadwick Boseman, Inc valued at $3,396,969; and a $40,000 life insurance policy.
Simone claimed further to have liquidated the IRA account, alleging she had been left unable to apportion the money between herself, Leroy and Carolyn because Kevin and Derrick 'instructed the bank to place a hold on the funds—blocking the very distribution they now claim has not occurred,' her filing states.
'Simone voluntarily gifted more than $300,000 of her own funds to Derrick’s four children,' the objection added, arguing her largesse was '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.'
She also noted her stewardship of her late husband's legacy via projects like a production of his play Deep Azure at Shakespeare's Globe, or the Chadwick Boseman Foundation of the Arts, or a deal for a documentary on his life.
All of those efforts were made, she said, with the brothers' 'knowledge and active participation, and on terms structured to benefit both sides of the family equally.'
Strenuously denying she 'lost, wasted or mismanaged' any of the assets, Simone held in her objection that she had 'transparently' run the estate and consulted the brothers 'at every meaningful step' despite having no 'obligation to do so.'
Her legal filing described her as the 'love of Chadwick's life' who 'stood by Chadwick's side and cared for him throughout his battle with cancer.'
His death took place six days after he exchanged vows with Simone, whom he had been involved with at that point for half a decade; the couple are pictured at the 2019 Oscars
According to the objection, they started dating in 2015 and got engaged four years later 'after Chadwick's cancer briefly went into remission.'
The court documents added: 'It was no surprise that, notwithstanding the end of his life was near, Chadwick wanted Simone to be his wife.'
When Kevin and Derrick submitted their court papers in July, they accused Simone of having 'never fully distributed [the] estate nor has she petitioned for discharge in the several years since this court’s order for final distribution.'
They added that 'she continues to exercise complete control' without any input from her in-laws.
Kevin and Derrick told the court that Simone had yet to tend to business duties linked to an insurance policy, his bank account totals, residuals from SAG-AFTRA and personal belongings that have yet to be forwarded to the late actor's parents.
Boseman's parents had not been able to move forward on potential business deals involving their late son due to Simone's inaction with the proceeds of the estate, his brothers said in the legal filing.
As such, the late actor's parents had been deprived 'of financial assets at a vulnerable age' and have suffered from 'emotional distress,' the brothers claimed.
Kevin and Derrick said in the filing that they have sought to apprise Simone of the pressing issues multiple times, to no avail.
Kevin posted this throwback photo from 1994 of himself with Chadwick and Derrick to his Instagram page
The late actor's brothers asked the court to 'enter an order to show cause for why [Taylor] should not be held in contempt for failure to obey' orders the court set forth four years back.
They requested the court order Simone to forward the assets in the estate to the proper parties within a 30-day span, in addition 'to file a complete accounting.'
The late actor's brothers said that the 'lack of transparency' from Simone 'creates the appearance that she is concealing assets from [Boseman's] family and from the court.'
Kevin and Derrick asked the court to remove Simone from her administrative position in regard to the estate, and place lawyer Jason Rubin in the position moving forward.
They also requested that Simone be prevented from entering into any new business deals on behalf of the estate unless approved by the family.
Kevin and Derrick asked the court for Simone 'to provide copies of all contracts entered on behalf of' the late actor's estate, as well as for her to pay for 'reasonable attorney’s fees and costs' linked to the legal dispute.
English (US) ·