Key Takeaways
- Chadwick Boseman’s widow, Taylor Simone Ledward-Boseman, called his brothers’ effort to remove her as estate administrator a “baseless attack” and “public-relations stunt.”
- She says she distributed nearly all estate assets—including shares in Chadwick Boseman, Inc. valued near $3.4 million—and withheld only a roughly $300,000 IRA after the brothers took legal action.
- The dispute follows years of family tension after Boseman died without a will in 2020, six days after marrying Ledward-Boseman in a ceremony officiated by his brother Derrick.
Chadwick Boseman’s widow is firing back at his brothers in their increasingly bitter fight over the late actor’s estate — and she came armed with receipts.
Taylor Simone Ledward-Boseman blasted Derrick and Kevin Boseman’s attempt to remove her as administrator of her late husband’s estate, calling their case a “baseless attack” and a “public-relations stunt” designed to smear her in the press. In newly filed Los Angeles court papers, Ledward-Boseman also disputes the brothers’ central allegation that she has failed to distribute assets belonging to Chadwick Boseman’s parents.
According to Ledward-Boseman, nearly everything has already been distributed.
“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,” attorney Adam Streisand wrote, per The New York Post.
“Simone’s generosity has been both financial and collaborative,” the filing continues. “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.”
Then came the gloves-off portion of the response.
“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,” Streisand wrote.
He characterized the lawsuit as an attack by Boseman’s brothers, “who are not among Chadwick’s legal heirs,” brought with authority from their “ailing parents,” Leroy and Carolyn Boseman.
Chadwick died without a will in August 2020 after privately battling colon cancer for four years. Ledward-Boseman ultimately received 50% of his estate, while his parents were each entitled to 25%.
Her new filing says the brothers’ version leaves out much of the context.
Ledward-Boseman claims she distributed assets including a $151,558 Bank of America account, 100 shares of Chadwick Boseman, Inc. valued at nearly $3.4 million, a $40,000 life insurance policy, another account containing more than $241,000, and even 88 cents in unclaimed property.
The remaining asset is a roughly $300,000 IRA that she says was held back because the brothers initiated legal action.
“To be clear, no Estate asset has been lost, wasted, or mismanaged,” her response states. Ledward-Boseman says she administered the estate transparently and consulted the family despite having no obligation to do so.
The filing also says her generosity extended well beyond the estate.
Ledward-Boseman claims she gave more than $300,000 of her own money to Derrick’s four children. Meanwhile, approximately $300,000 in SAG-AFTRA residuals flowed into Chadwick’s estate between 2020 and 2024.
Although his parents were entitled to their respective shares, Ledward-Boseman says that at their request, she instead distributed $75,000 apiece to Derrick and Kevin.
Her filing says she pursued those projects with the brothers’ knowledge and active participation and structured them to benefit both sides of the family equally.
The response arrives as more details emerge showing just how long tensions between Ledward-Boseman and her husband’s family have been simmering.
Correspondence previously obtained by TMZ showed the family’s attorneys demanding Chadwick’s medical records and preservation of his electronic devices less than three months after his death.
By 2021, the family was questioning his medical treatment after an autopsy reportedly detected hydromorphone, a powerful opioid commonly used for severe pain, in his system. They also sought recordings they believed Chadwick made outlining how he wanted his movie residuals distributed.
Ledward-Boseman’s attorneys were already calling those claims “bogus and avaricious” in December 2020.
Her latest filing adds another deeply personal detail to that history: Chadwick and Simone married on Aug. 21, 2020, as his condition deteriorated. He died six days later.
“Simone stood by Chadwick’s side and cared for him throughout his battle with cancer,” the filing states. “It was no surprise that, notwithstanding that the end of his life was near, Chadwick wanted Simone to be his wife.”
And the person who officiated that wedding?
