Splitting the Estate Evenly
Black Panther star, Chadwick Boseman silently fought stage three colon cancer and underwent chemotherapy for four years before losing his battle. At the time of his death, the 43-year-old actor had no will in place, and now two years later, his estate is being split evenly between his parents and widow, Taylor Simone Ledward. Ledward was put in charge of handling all the financial matters after his death on August 28, 2020.
Boseman and Ledward met and started dating before he was diagnosed with colon cancer, and the two secretly wed before his death. Without a will in place, Ledward was appointed the representative with limited authority over the estate.
Estate Expenses and Reimbursements
In the case, Ledward requested reimbursement for funeral expenses including the venue, service, flowers, and mausoleum crypt. In addition to those expenses, she also spent $22,000 on mausoleum crypts for Boseman’s parents Leroy and Carolyn, so his parents can one day be laid next to him. In a recently filed document, it’s revealed that the total inventory of Boseman’s estate is $3,881,758.31, which includes residual checks that have come in since March 2021. According to Radar Online, after all the bills from the estate are paid, his estate will be left with $2.3 million. With no real property of the estate and no real estate tax due, and all California federal income taxes paid, there are no tax amounts owed by Boseman or his estate. Ledward has asked the court to approve an equal distribution of his estate between her and Boseman’s parents.
A Notable Career
Boseman was a dedicated actor for many years. His IMDb page proves that with an extensive list of credits from 2003 through 2021. Boseman has received several nominations for his roles, even after his death. He even became the Screen Actors Guild Awards’ most nominated actor posthumously. Boseman has received several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, Critics’ Choice Movie Award, four MTV Movie & TV Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and nominations for an Academy Award and BAFTA Award.
Boseman continued to take roles while silently battling colon cancer. During chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, Boseman worked on and completed production for several films including “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Marshall,” and a few others. His career also included playwright, co-writer, and director credits.
Keeping His Legacy Alive
In January 2021, Boseman was honored with a tribute at the 30th annual IFP Gotham Awards. According to CNN, Ledward accepted the Actor Tribute award for her late husband for his role in the Netflix film, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” She gave an emotionally charged speech saying, “As an artist, an actor, and a person, Chad made a practice of telling the truth. He is the most honest person I’ve ever met because he didn’t just stop at speaking the truth, he actively searched for it. In himself, in those around him and in the moment. The truth can be a very easy thing for the self to avoid, but if one does not live in truth, then it’s impossible to live in line with a divine purpose for your life. And so it became how he lived his life, day in, day out. Imperfect, but determined.”
