Nearly two years after the beloved “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett passed away following a courageous four-year battle with Merkel cell skin cancer, his widow Jane finds herself embroiled in a legal dispute that threatens to overshadow the legacy of the man who taught millions to embrace life’s simpler pleasures.
The woman who shared 46 years of marriage with the iconic musician has filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking to remove the co-trustee of her husband’s substantial $275 million estate, alleging that professional relationships have gone sour and financial stewardship is being called into question.
According to Variety, the legal battle centers on Rick Mozenter, managing director at the business management firm Gelfand, Rennert and Feldman LLC, who became co-trustee of Buffett’s estate alongside Jane following the singer’s death in September 2023.
What began as a standard estate administration has devolved into what Jane Buffett describes as an irreparable professional relationship marked by stonewalling, hostility, and concerning financial management decisions that have left her questioning whether the trust is being administered in her best interests.
The timeline of events reads like a frustrating bureaucratic nightmare.
Just one month after losing her husband, Jane Buffett approached Mozenter with a reasonable request: she wanted to understand her financial future by obtaining analyzed projections of her expected income from the trust.
What should have been a straightforward conversation between co-trustees instead became a 16-month ordeal of delays and excuses, leaving the grieving widow in financial limbo during an already difficult period.
When Mozenter finally provided the requested projections in February 2025, the numbers were startling.
The $275 million trust would generate less than $2 million annually for Jane Buffett, representing a return rate of less than one percent.
Even more concerning, The Hollywood Reporter reports, Mozenter suggested she “consider adjustments” to her lifestyle or sell her personal assets to bridge any financial gaps, despite the trust’s substantial holdings.
The financial picture becomes even more puzzling when considering the performance of “Margaritaville,” the sprawling hospitality empire that grew from Buffett’s most famous song.
The trust owns approximately 20 percent of the company, which has distributed roughly $14 million over the past 18 months. However, Mozenter allegedly chose not to include estimates of future Margaritaville distributions in his income analysis, a decision that Jane Buffett’s legal team argues demonstrates either incompetence or unwillingness to act in her interests.
Adding insult to injury, Mozenter’s firm has billed the trust $1.75 million annually for their management services, meaning their fees alone consume nearly the entire amount Jane Buffett receives from the estate. The mathematical reality is stark: the trustee’s compensation represents almost 90 percent of the widow’s annual distribution from her late husband’s fortune.
The relationship deteriorated further when Mozenter retained legal counsel and began what Jane Buffett characterizes as combative communications. She claims the final straw came when his firm presented her with voluminous estate tax returns and demanded comments within just three days, a timeline that her legal team views as unreasonable and indicative of the broader pattern of unprofessional conduct.
In her petition, Jane Buffett seeks to replace Mozenter with Daniel Neidich, CEO of Dune Real Estate Partners, hoping to restore proper stewardship to the estate that bears her husband’s artistic and financial legacy.
The case represents more than a simple administrative dispute; it’s about ensuring that the fortune built on Jimmy Buffett’s lifetime of entertaining millions continues to provide security for the woman who stood beside him through it all.