Jimmy Buffett’s widow sues estate co-trustee over $275M trust

Jane Buffett, the widow of “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett, is suing the co-trustee of his $275 million trust, claiming the trustee has not shared financial information about the account with her.

She also claims that the co-trustee, accountant Richard Mozenter, and the lawyer he selected, Jeffery Smith, have been “openly hostile” toward her.

The lawsuit was filed in California state court in Los Angeles, Bloomberg reported.

People magazine reported the lawsuit said, “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. 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.”

Jane Buffett said the trust was created in 1990 and amended twice - in 2017 and 2023. Each of the couple’s three children get $2 million, while the remainder was put in a Marital Trust administered by Jane Buffett and an independent person.

Mozenter managed the trust upon the singer’s death, with him and the widow meeting about a month later.

“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,” she claims

She said the projected income from the trust was not what she expected.

The suit stated, “he showed the Marital Trust earning less than $2 million in net income, a remarkably poor return for a Trust with an estimated $275 million in assets.” The net income was less than 1% of the trust’s value, Variety reported.

He allegedly told her that the income would not cover her expenses, telling her to “consider adjustments” concerning what she spent or sell real estate.

The projection did not include distribution from Margaritaville, a company the trust owns 20% of, People magazine reported.

The company has interests in more than 30 restaurants and bars as well as 20 hotels, according to Bloomberg. The company paid about $14 million in distributions and has a value of $85.3 million.

The estate also has assets including $34.5 million in property, $15.3 million in aircraft and tens of millions in musical equipment, fine art and vehicles.

The trust was billed $1.75 million for Mozenter’s firm’s services for last year, Variety reported.

She had asked Mozenter to resign as co-trustee on May 30, but he has refused.

Jane Buffett said that the attorney appointed by Mozenter has acted “strange and unprofessional,” with Mozenter not stopping it. She alleged that Smith told her to step down as co-trustee of her late husband’s trust.

Mozenter filed a separate lawsuit in state court in Palm Beach, Florida, saying that she has cost the trust money and asking to remove her as co-trustee, Bloomberg reported.

He did not respond to People or Variety’s requests for comment.

Jane Buffett was married to Jimmy Buffett for 46 years until his death in September 2023.

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