Jimmy Buffett's widow Jane reportedly upset and 'confused' about his estate drama, recalls "a strong bond and trust" they shared

American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett's widow, Jane, has filed a lawsuit against the co-trustee of her late husband's $275 million trust, Richard Mozenter. She claims that Mozenter failed in his role as co-trustee.

In legal documents viewed by People Magazine, Jane accused both the co-trustee, Richard Mozenter, and the attorney assigned to carry out the transaction, Jeffrey Smith, of being "openly hostile" to her.

Jane was married ot the late singer for 46 years, before his death in September 2023. She is seeking to remove Mozenter as co-trustee. On June 23, she alleged that she and her counsel had reportedly asked him to "act responsibly and perform his duties," which he did not.

The filing claims,

"Mr. Mozenter has failed to perform even the most basic tasks required of him in his role as co-trustee, including providing Mrs. Buffett with information concerning Trust assets and finances, which has left Mrs. Buffett in the dark with regard to the state of her own finances."

It added:

"Along the way, Mr. Mozenter has belittled, disrespected and condescended to Mrs. Buffett in response to her reasonable requests for information she undoubtedly was entitled to receive."

A close family friend of the couple, while speaking to People Magazine in an article published on June 4, said that Jimmy Buffett "would have never wanted Jane to be treated like this." They also said that they know how close Jimmy and Jane were and how he trusted his wife to make important decisions in his life and career.

Jimmy Buffett's estate trust legal battle

As per Jimmy Buffett's widow Jane's court filing against the appointed co-trustee and attorney, the late singer's trust was created in December 1990, for Jane's benefit. It was later amended in 2017 and 2023, adding all three of their children, who have a one-third share of the remaining Federal estate tax exemption, worth about $2 million each.

The trust notes that after Jimmy Buffett's death, the bulk of his estate should go to the marital trust under Jane and an independent co-trustee's administration. However, in her filing, Jane mentioned that after meeting Mozenter, a month after Jimmy Buffett's death, she had "more questions than answers",

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"Rather than help his recently widowed client understand her finances. Mr. Mozenter spent the next 16 months stonewalling and making excuses for why he could not yet provide the requested information."

The filing also noted that Mozenter finally provided the estimate Jane requested in February 2025, the results of which the family found "shocking." As per the complaint, Mozenter showed the Marital Trust earning less than $2 million in net income. A court hearing is scheduled for August 14.

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