Jimmy Buffett’s Widow Appeals Court Order in Lawsuit Battle

Jimmy Buffett‘s widow has filed an appeal for a court order that allows Richard Mozenter, the co-trustee on the late singer’s estate, to use funds from the trust to cover legal costs for their ongoing lawsuit.

People reported that update. They also reported that Jane Buffett’s legal team criticized the ruling as authorizing a “blank check” for Mozenter to draw from the trust for his costs.

It’s the latest twist in a legal battle between Jane and Mozenter that’s been playing out in court for the better part of a year.

Why is Jimmy Buffett’s $275M Estate at the Center of a Legal Battle?

• In June 2025, Variety obtained documents stating that Jane Buffett was suing to remove Mozenter as the co-trustee from her late husband’s estate.
• The trust is estimated at $275 million and holds, per Bloomberg, a 20 percent stake in Margaritaville as well as “property, airplanes and fine art” along with other assets.
• Jane’s filings accuse Mozenter as being “openly hostile and adversarial” toward her, and not providing prompt information about the trust’s finances.
• She claims he told her that the trust would provide her only $2 million annually, a projection so low that the filing documents described it as “shocking.”

Read More: Jimmy Buffett’s Widow Accuses Co-Trustee of “Wasting Funds”

They’re currently in dueling lawsuits, with each accusing the other of mismanaging money, and each asking a court to remove the other as a co-trustee.

Her documents claim that Mozenter has shown “little interest in sparing Marital trust assets from the high cost of litigating three separate actions,” in an alleged “tactic” of draining the same resources he was originally contracted to protect.

Meanwhile, Mozenter’s documents say that Jane took actions that cost the trust unnecessarily, and refused to work with him on topics such as “financial analysis, tax returns and managing her husband’s business interests.”

Who Took Control of Jimmy Buffett’s Estate After He Died?

Jimmy Buffett died on Sept. 1, 2023, at the age of 76. His cause of death was skin cancer that turned into lymphoma.

Variety reports that the singer’s estate plan, most recently updated in 2023, named his wife as the sole beneficiary.

Mozenter became a co-trustee of the estate after Buffett’s death. Filings indicate that Jane met with Mozenter a month after her husband died, when she asked him to provide “an analyzed projection of her future income from the trust.”

Read More: Shocking Country Music Lawsuits

According to the documents, Mozenter didn’t return the information for 16 months, and he allegedly spent those months “stonewalling” and “making excuses.”

Jane says that in February 2025, Mozenter gave her a projection stating that the estate would earn her under $2 million annually. She claims that was a major surprise, since Margaritaville alone had generation $14 million over the previous 18 months.

What Has Jimmy Buffett’s Widow Said About the Legal Battle Over His Trust?

Outside of what she’s said in court documents, Jane Buffett is reportedly “upset and confused” about what has taken place, an anonymous source told People in 2025.

Read More: Country Music’s Most Heated Feuds

“Jimmy would never have wanted Jane to be treated like this,” said that source, who is reportedly a friend of the family. “[I] know how close Jimmy and Jane were all these years, and how Jimmy relied upon and trusted Jane around so many important decisions in his life and career.”

Jimmy Buffett’s Love Story With His Wife Jane

Jimmy Buffett met Jane Slagsvol in Key West, Fla. in the early 1970s, when she was visiting for her college spring break.

They married in 1977, and welcomed three children together during their marriage.

The couple were together until his death in 2023, with the exception of a five-year split in the 1980s. Jane has said that she left to get away from their hard-partying lifestyle, and that she got sober during this time.