Jimmy Buffett widow

Photo Credit: Margaritaville

Jimmy Buffett’s widow has asked a judge to stop her late husband’s financial advisor from trying to remove her as a trustee overseeing the estate.

Jimmy Buffett’s widow has been embroiled in a legal battle with her late husband’s financial advisor since June, accusing him of failing to administer the singer’s $275 million trust in good faith. The two have been back and forth, each accusing the other of mishandling the estate’s funds and seeking to remove the other as a trustee.

On Monday, Jane Buffett asked a judge in West Palm Beach, Florida, to stop Richard Mozenter from trying to remove her as a trustee. Instead, she seeks an order to remove him from overseeing the estate.

Her filing accuses Mozenter of “repeatedly” breaching his fiduciary duty by failing to provide her with basic information related to the trust’s assets and investments. At the same time, she asserts, he is taking “unreasonable fees and costs in the context of services provided.”

Jane Buffett’s lawyers provided Mozenter’s lawyers with a copy of a petition they planned to file in Los Angeles Superior Court on May 30, should he not resign as co-trustee by June 2. In response, Mozenter’s counsel filed a petition on June 2 in Florida, seeking Jane Buffett’s removal as co-trustee.

“Notably, Mr. Mozenter only bought 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,” her complaint reads.

Meanwhile, Mozenter’s camp claimed that Jimmy Buffett had established the trust with Mozenter as an independent trustee out of concern over his wife’s “ability to manage and control his assets.”

Jane Buffett’s petition doubles down that the relationship between the two parties is “untenable,” and therefore asks the judge to remove Mozenter 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,” said attorney Matt Porpora. “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.”

Jane Buffett was Jimmy’s wife for 46 years until his death in 2023. She is currently the beneficiary of the marital trust. Mozenter was appointed co-trustee of the late singer’s trust following his death.