What happened to Chadwick Boseman’s $2.3 million estate is an exception, not the rule
The "Black Panther" actor died without a will, but his widow Taylor Simone Ledward seemed to have still handled his $2.3 million estate without public family drama.
According to a 2022 survey published by Caring.com, an online advising service for seniors and caregivers, nearly 70% of Americans do not have a will or living trust in place, and only 16% believe that establishing a will by the age of 45 is necessary.
It perhaps isn’t surprising then that the actor Chadwick Boseman, star of Marvel’s “Black Panther,” had not established a will before he died of colon cancer in the summer of 2020 at 43. According to a 2021 Gallup poll, only 36% of Americans between the ages of 30 and 49 indicated that they have a will that describes their wishes for how they’d like their assets to be handled after their death.
Not long ago, I’d told my father that if he didn’t establish a will, I would remove myself from his financial affairs upon his death.
Whenever someone passes away without a will, I’m reminded of what Henry Ford was believed to have said during a magazine interview in 1921: “Money doesn’t change men, it merely unmasks them. If a man is naturally selfish or arrogant or greedy, the money brings that out, that’s all.” Too many of us have seen such sentiments in action, especially after the passing of a loved one.
In my own family, I’d seen firsthand how ugly family dynamics can get after someone passes away — even when there is relatively little money involved. Not long ago, I’d told my father that if he didn’t establish a will, I would remove myself from his financial affairs upon his death. It was an awkward conversation; no one enjoys confronting their mortality. But in erecting this boundary, I knew exactly what I was doing. And I’d encourage others to think about doing the same.
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