Jimmy Buffett’s widow claimed that the financial adviser responsible for managing the singer’s $275 million trust acted in bad faith and overlooked what she believed were her best interests in handling the estate.
On Monday, Jane Buffett asked a West Palm Beach, Florida, judge to prevent Richard Mozenter from removing her as trustee and instead called for his dismissal from managing the estate, according to court documents cited by The Guardian.
Jimmy Buffett died Sept, 1, 2023, at age 76, and his wife and Mozenter have since been locked in a battle over control of the trust, with each party accusing the other of financial mismanagement in lawsuits filed in both California and Florida.
Jane Buffett’s filing on Monday alleged that Mozenter has "repeatedly" breached his fiduciary duty by withholding basic details about the trust’s assets and investments from her, while also charging "unreasonable fees and costs in the context of the services provided."
According to the filing, on May 30, Jane Buffett’s legal team shared a draft petition with Mozenter’s attorneys, indicating they would formally submit it to the Los Angeles Superior Court if he didn’t step down as co-trustee by June 2.
Rather than resign, Mozenter’s lawyers submitted their own petition on June 2 in West Palm Beach, requesting that Buffett be removed from her role as co-trustee. The following day, on June 3, Buffett proceeded to file her complaint in Los Angeles, where Mozenter serves as managing director at Gelfand, Rennert and Feldman LLC.
"Notably, Mr Mozenter only brought this (and his other) retaliatory, baseless action after Mrs Buffett had informed him that, absent his resignation, she would initiate litigation against him to seek his removal as co-trustee," the complaint said.
In his legal filing, Mozenter asserted that Jimmy Buffett appointed him as an independent trustee out of concern for his wife’s “ability to manage and control his assets.”
However, the Florida complaint submitted on Monday describes the dynamic between Jane Buffett and Mozenter as “untenable” and requests that the court strip Mozenter of his role as co-trustee.
"Jane will not play into Mr Mozenter’s hands by litigating this dispute in two separate courts across the country, which would drain the very trust money that Jimmy specifically set aside for her care," attorney Matt Porpora said.
"Instead, Jane is bringing the fight to Florida, where she and Jimmy called home. Jane is confident she will prevail regardless of where her claims are heard, and her decision to move her claims from California to Florida illustrates that she is the only co-trustee looking to conserve – not waste – trust assets," Porpora added.
Jimmy Buffett, who went from Key West beach bum to billionaire behind the always-on-vacation "Margaritaville" commercial empire, died after a four-year battle with skin cancer that eventually progressed into lymphoma, which killed him.
"Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs. He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many," a statement released shortly after hsi death read.
Reuters contributed to this report
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.