By FREIDA FRISARO, Associated Press
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Jimmy Buffett ’s widow has accused her late husband’s financial adviser of failing to administer the singer’s multimillion-dollar trust in good faith and ignoring what she believed were her best interests for the $275 million estate.
Jane Buffett on Monday asked a judge in West Palm Beach, Florida, to stop Richard Mozenter from trying to remove her as a trustee and instead sought an order removing him from overseeing the estate, according to court papers.
Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock and created a “Margaritaville” empire of restaurants and resorts, died Sept. 1, 2023, at 76.
His widow and Mozenter have since been embroiled in a battle over who controls the trust, with each accusing the other of mishandling funds in lawsuits filed in both California and Florida.
The dispute is similar to another going on with the estate of another beloved singer, Tony Bennett. Two of the late crooner’s daughters sued their brother over his handling of the family trust.
Jane Buffett’s filing on Monday accuses Mozenter of “repeatedly” breaching his fiduciary duty by failing to provide her with basic information about the trust’s assets and its investments while taking “unreasonable fees and costs in the context of the services provided.”
On May 30, Jane Buffett’s lawyers provided Mozenter’s lawyers a copy of a petition they planned to file in Los Angeles Superior Court if he did not resign as cotrustee by June 2, the filing states.
Mozenter’s counsel instead filed a petition June 2 in West Palm Beach, seeking Buffett’s removal as cotrustee, documents show. Jane Buffett’s complaint was filed June 3 in Los Angeles, where Mozenter is managing director at Gelfand, Rennert and Feldman LLC.
“Notably, Mr. Mozenter only brought this (and his other) retaliatory, baseless action after Mrs. Buffett had informed him that, absent his resignation, she would initiate litigation against him to seek his removal as co-trustee,” the complaint said.
Mozenter claimed in his lawsuit that Jimmy Buffett established the trust with Mozenter as an independent trustee because he was concerned about his wife’s “ability to manage and control his assets.”
The complaint filed Monday in Florida says the relationship between Jane Buffett and Mozenter is “untenable,” and asks the judge to remove Mozenter as cotrustee.
“Jane will not play into Mr. Mozenter’s hands by litigating this dispute in two separate courts across the country, which would drain the very trust money that Jimmy specifically set aside for her care,” said attorney Matt Porpora.
“Instead, Jane is bringing the fight to Florida, where she and Jimmy called home. Jane is confident she will prevail regardless of where her claims are heard, and her decision to move her claims from California to Florida illustrates that she is the only co-trustee looking to conserve — not waste — trust assets,” Porpora said.
Mozenter did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.