Jimmy Buffett’s Widow and Business Manager Sue Each Other Over Control of $275M Estate (2025)

Jimmy Buffett’s widow and former business manager are seeking to remove each other from administration of the late singer-songwriter’s estate, launching dueling court actions that each accuse the other of hostility and mismanagement of a trust holding $275 million worth of assets.

Jane Buffett, Jimmy Buffett’s wife of 46 years, became the sole beneficiary of a marital trust holding the bulk of the hitmaker’s assets upon his death in September 2023 at the age of 76. Her court filing says these assets, including real estate and a 20% stake in his successful island-themed hospitality company Margaritaville, are worth roughly $275 million.

Jane was made a co-trustee of the marital trust alongside Rick Mozenter, an accountant at the business management firm Gelfand Rennert & Feldman. But that relationship has since soured, and both Jane and Mozenter are now pursuing court actions seeking to remove the other from their roles administering the estate.

In a petition filed Monday (June 2) in Florida court, Mozenter claims he was Jimmy’s “trusted financial advisor” for over 30 years, and that the singer purposefully limited Jane’s control of the trust because of concerns about his wife’s “ability to manage and control his assets.”

“It was Jimmy’s clear intent that an independent trustee, in this case Rick, had the ultimate control of the trust’s assets,” write Mozenter’s attorneys from the law firm Comiter Singer. “Other than serving as a non-controlling trustee, Jane has no ability to manage the trust. This fact has made Jane very angry. As a result, Jane has repeatedly acted in a hostile manner toward Rick and has been completely uncooperative with Rick in his attempts to administer the trust.”

Mozenter’s lawyers say Jane has refused to meet with him or otherwise help him with key duties involved with managing the trust. Jane has instead interfered with his work, Mozenter claims, including by ousting Jimmy’s longtime law firm and harassing the late singer’s boat captain to such a degree that the trust had to pay a hefty settlement.

Jane tells a different story in her own court petition filed in California on Tuesday (June 3). She alleges Mozenter has been “openly hostile and adversarial” while blocking access to key information about her late husband’s financial portfolio.

“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,” write Jane’s lawyers from the firm Sullivan & Cromwell. “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.”

According to Jane’s court filing, she met with Mozenter a month after Jimmy’s death in October 2023 and asked how much income she should expect to receive annually from the trust. Mozenter dragged his feet for 16 months, Jane’s lawyers say, repeatedly ignoring her requests to get an answer as she tried to make plans for her future.

Mozenter finally provided this estimate in February 2025, and the results were “shocking.” Mozenter told Jane she would see less than $2 million in annual income — an amount that would not cover Jane’s expenses and “a remarkably poor return for a trust with an estimated $275 million in assets,” Jane’s petition states.

Jane’s lawyers say this estimate was especially surprising because the trust had received more than $14 million in distributions from Margaritaville over the previous 18 months. This made Jane concerned that Mozenter was mismanaging the trust, and she requested additional financial information from him, but she alleges the accountant once again stonewalled.

Jane’s court filing also claims Mozenter has been “unprofessional and combative” to Jane and that he refused her request to sell a piece of Bahamas real estate, even though the Buffett family rarely uses this property and it costs more than $300,000 a year to operate. Mozenter has billed more than $1.7 million in fees while engaging in this alleged wrongdoing, Jane’s attorneys claim.

“Faced with what clearly has become an unsolvable rift with Mr. Mozenter, and the prospect of having to continue to unsuccessfully request that he discharge his duties, on May 30, 2025, Mrs. Buffett asked that Mr. Mozenter resign as co-trustee,” says Jane’s petition. “Mr. Mozenter refused, insisting that he remain in a position of authority over her wealth. The situation is untenable and Mrs. Buffett requests this court’s assistance to resolve it.”

Ultimately, Jane and Mozenter are both seeking to ax each other from the marital trust’s administration and appoint a new co-trustee. Mozenter has also asked the court to remove Jane as the personal representative of Jimmy’s estate.

This story was updated on June 4 at 6:13 p.m. ET to include details about Rick Mozenter’s competing petition against Jane Buffett.