Jimmy Buffett‘s widow has filed a petition to remove the co-trustee of the late singer’s $275 million estate, claiming that he has failed to act in her best interests.
In her filing, reviewed by Variety, Jane Buffett is seeking to remove Richard A. Mozenter from his role in overseeing the trust, claiming that he has been “openly hostile and adversarial” towards her since her husband of 46 years died in Sept. 2023. She claims that Mozenter took over a year to provide her with estimated estate income, stating that the trust would only provide her less than $2 million annually and that she should consider selling her own real estate to maintain her standard of living.
Jimmy Buffett had initially executed an estate plan with his wife as the sole beneficiary, most recently updating it in 2023. After his death, Mozenter became co-trustee to manage his $275 million in assets in his role as managing director at Gelfand, Rennert and Feldman LLC.
A month after her husband’s death, Jane Buffett met with Mozenter to request an analyzed projection of her future income from the trust to understand her finances. According to the filing, Mozenter spent the next 16 months “stonewalling” and “making excuses” for why he couldn’t provide the information.
In Feb. 2025, Mozenter finally provided an estimated projection that stated that the $275 million trust would generate less than $2 million annually, or less than one percent. The filing describes the projection as “shocking,” considering that Mozenter had acknowledged that Buffett’s Margaritaville company, in which the trust owns a roughly 20 percent stake, paid out $14 million over the past 18 months.
Counsel for Buffett is claiming that Mozenter “is either not competent to administer the trust or unwilling to act in [her] best interests.” They seek his removal due to his “unprofessional and combative communications with Mrs. Buffett,” as he complained that he cannot “have one productive conversation with [her] about any topic” and that his time is “wasted by her.” They also claim that Mozenter and his firm billed the trust $1.75 million for their services in the previous year.
Mozenter did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Shortly after Mozenter provided Buffett with the estimated projection, she sent a 13-page letter detailing her concerns about his role in the trust and asking for projected Margaritaville earnings. Mozenter directed her to her late husband’s estate tax return without supplying the requested information. He then informed her that he retained counsel to represent him to respond to her initial letter.
Buffett seeks to remove Mozenter and replace him with Daniel Neidich, CEO of Dune Real Estate Partners.
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