Chadwick Boseman’s widow is stepping up to personally cover the cost of his parents’ burial plots — which will be located near the Black Panther star’s — after the judge handling the late actor’s $3.5 million estate rejected the $23,951 bill on Wednesday, a source confirmed to Rolling Stone.
Widow Taylor Simone Ledward had been seeking reimbursement for the bill after she paid out-of-pocket in September 2020 for her parents-in-law Leroy and Carolyn Boseman to purchase the crypts “adjacent” to their son’s final resting place at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Anderson, South Carolina, the source said.
Now serving as administrator of Boseman’s pending estate, Ledward believed the costs qualified as covered expenses and submitted them for court approval. The judge ultimately rejected them Wednesday but did agree to reimburse $47,662 for other submitted funeral costs, including the $8,000 Ledward paid to Boseman’s manager Chris Huvane because he fronted the money to rent the funeral reception venue.
Reached by phone Thursday, Ledward’s lawyer confirmed the widow quickly agreed to foot the bill for Boseman’s parents’ crypts after the judge’s denial.
Boseman died August 28, 2020, after he was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016 and quietly fought the disease as it progressed to stage IV, his family said in a statement at the time.
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much. From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and several more, all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy,” the statement said. “It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther. He died in his home, with his wife and family by his side.”
Boseman died at the age of 43 without a will, so his estate is going through California’s slow process of court-governed disposition — one that involves appraisals, referees, creditor claims, and status reports. Ledward is due to submit a petition for final distribution by Feb. 22.
