Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY NETWORK
Chadwick Boseman's family and widow are locked in a legal battle
Chadwick Boseman’s family and his widow have been locked in a legal dispute over his estate for years. The battle looks to be getting uglier before it gets better.
According to reports, Chadwick Boseman’s parents, Leroy and Carolyn, and his brothers, Derrick and Kevin, sent a letter to his widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, in November 2020, just months after his death, demanding she preserve his phones, computers, and bank records, and provide a full accounting of his finances.
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Boseman died that August of colon cancer at 43, a diagnosis he’d kept private for four years while starring in Black Panther and several other major films. The family said they wanted to “fulfill Chad’s actual intent and ensure that the distribution of assets aligns with the free will that God gave him,” and claimed he’d made a recording directing 90% of his film residuals to be split among his parents and brothers.
The brothers’ attorneys claimed Boseman’s autopsy showed a hydromorphone level of 0.12 mg/L — allegedly four times the highest therapeutic concentration and “well into the toxic range” — and questioned the treatment he’d received before his death.
“The family’s lawyer requested that Simone’s legal team agree to “execute a release for Chad’s medical records” and asked that they digitally image his cell phones, computers, iPads, and other electronics to preserve any relevant information. They also asked for copies of all accounting for Chadwick’s bank account,” reported TMZ.
“The family said they asked Simone for the medical records due to questions about why he was found on the floor of his bedroom on the day he died. The family claimed it wanted an autopsy but Simone initially did not because his body had been through enough,” the outlet continued.
“The letter said that an autopsy was completed on September 1, 2020, and revealed some ‘startling results that raised some serious concern about the medical advice/or therapy he was receiving.’ The letter claimed the toxicology revealed that 0.12 mg/l of hydromorphone in Chadwick’s system at the time of death and said this number was ‘extremely troubling’ because it was 4x the highest therapeutic concentration and ‘well into the toxic range.'”
Ledward’s legal team pushed back by calling the letter’s tone “sudden, misguided and aggressive” and describing the family’s claims as “bogus and avaricious.” Her attorney noted she had previously tried to collaborate with the brothers on projects honoring Boseman’s legacy.
Earlier this year, Boseman’s brothers filed to have Ledward removed as administrator of the estate, a request she is actively fighting.