A judge has denied a request from Jimmy Buffett’s widow to immediately suspend the late singer-songwriter’s financial adviser as co-trustee of the couple’s estate, which has an estimated value of $275 million.
Palm Beach County Judge Charles Burton also ordered that Jane Buffett and the adviser, Richard “Rick” Mozenter, attend mediation “so that each party fully understands their fiduciary duties with regard to the administration of this trust and to specifically address the issues surrounding this litigation,” Burton wrote in the Aug. 27 order.
That order followed an Aug. 18 hearing in Palm Beach County court. Jane Buffett’s attorneys had filed motions seeking to stop Mozenter from moving money from the Marital Trust established by Jimmy Buffett before his death on Sept. 1, 2023, at age 76, to a new trust established this year.
The litigation has brought into the spotlight the sprawling financial estate left by Jimmy Buffett, the iconic “Margaritaville” crooner who built his easy-going yacht rock into a global brand. Margaritaville now includes resorts, casinos, a cruise line based at the Port of Palm Beach, restaurants, housing developments and clothing. The Buffetts were longtime part-time Palm Beach residents.
Representatives for Mozenter argued in court filings that the process he followed to move money to a new trust, which is called decanting, was justified as he sought to protect the money during the ongoing court battle over control of the Marital Trust.
Mozenter’s attorneys told Burton during the Aug. 18 hearing that Mozenter will not move forward with decanting the Marital Trust until Burton decides on any objections filed regarding the process, according to the Aug. 27 order.
Burton also gave Jane Buffett 20 days to file an updated counterclaim, and he said that an entity named Coral Gables Trust Co. can remain a co-trustee of the trust. Jane Buffett will have the right to seek legal action to remove that entity, Burton ruled.
A representative for Jane Buffett declined to comment. A representative for Mozenter also declined to comment and referred to court filings in the case.
Mozenter and Jane Buffett filed dueling lawsuits on opposite sides of the country in June. Each seeks to remove the other as co-trustee of the Marital Trust, for which Jane Buffett is the primary beneficiary as well as a co-trustee, according to court documents.
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