John Singleton’s mom, engaged in estate battle, says critical items were stolen from his house
The fight after the acclaimed director's estate is deepening with allegations of theft of important belongings of his
John Singleton’s mother is accusing someone of stealing from the late director’s house in the wake of his passing.
Sheila Ward, who is in a public battle with Singleton’s daughter, filed an emergency petition with the courts to be named special administrator over her son’s estate, according to The Blast.
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The website obtained court documents that show Ward filed for an emergency petition to be named special administrator of Singleton’s estate, claiming that her son’s “personal property is at risk.” She explained that Singleton always secured his expensive valuables in a locked office located inside of his home, but that recently the lock was “breached by a third party and items were removed and distributed without authorization to a beneficiary who believed that he was protecting the assets from other beneficiaries.”
Ward added that she is trying to obtain keys to Singleton’s home and his boat, however “the above-mentioned third party has keys to the residence and Decedent’s boat, but refuses to turn them over to Petitioner,” according to The Blast.
READ MORE: John Singleton’s death certificate reveals he died a day earlier
She also claims that “disputes have arisen regarding which beneficiaries, if any, have the right to reside in Decedent’s home.”
In a public squabble since Singleton suffered a stroke which escalated after his death, Ward and Singleton’s daughter Cleopatra are now battling in court.
According to Singleton’s will, filed by Ward with the court, the mother was named the executor of the estate. The will was drawn in 1993, at a time when only Singleton’s daughter, Justice, was born. The will leaves all of his belongings to her.
But since then, Singleton has had several other children and Ward said his estate is now valued at $3,797,545. This doesn’t include other assets, including movie rights and an anticipated large settlement agreement that was in the works when he died April 28.
