One year after the death of Tony! Toni! Toné! co-founder D’Wayne Wiggins, tensions within his family are reportedly rising over control of the R&B legend’s estate.
According to reports from TMZ, Wiggins’ children are questioning estate planning decisions that they say left them disinherited while giving authority to another family member. The outlet reports that Ilahn Wiggins, the musician’s daughter, claims she and her siblings, Dylan and Jaden, were excluded from the estate in favor of their cousin, Veleta Savannah.
Estate documents reportedly show Savannah was granted power of attorney over Wiggins’ assets. Ilahn Wiggins is now examining the circumstances surrounding those decisions, raising concerns about when the paperwork was signed.
She believes the documents giving Savannah control were executed near the end of her father’s life while he was undergoing treatment for bladder cancer. According to the report, she has questioned whether medications administered during his treatment and end-of-life care may have affected his ability to make clear decisions about his estate.
The situation has also raised questions about the role of Wiggins’ wife, Dori Wiggins. The musician married her only months before his death in March 2025, yet reports about the dispute have not clarified whether she has a claim to the estate or how she may factor into the legal process moving forward.
Wiggins’ estate is reportedly valued at around $700,000. Beyond that figure, it may also include music royalties tied to Tony! Toni! Toné!’s catalog — a body of work that helped define 1990s R&B and still generates revenue decades later.
As a founding member of the Oakland group, Wiggins helped craft timeless hits including “Feels Good,” “It Never Rains (In Southern California),” “Slow Wine,” and “Anniversary,” songs that remain staples on R&B radio and streaming playlists today.
Disputes over celebrity estates are not uncommon, particularly when music catalogs and long-term royalties are involved. Families are often left to untangle financial arrangements, intellectual property rights, and personal relationships after an artist’s death.
One of the most prominent examples is Michael Jackson‘s estate. Nearly two decades after the King of Pop died in 2009, members of his family have continued to seek transparency into the management of his vast holdings.
Jackson’s daughter Paris Jackson has been among those raising questions about financial decisions made by the estate’s executors, including deals tied to his music catalog and other assets. The administrators overseeing the estate have defended their approach in court filings, arguing that strategic licensing agreements and business partnerships have dramatically increased its value.
Today, Jackson’s estate is considered one of the most profitable in entertainment history, generating hundreds of millions of dollars through music royalties, film projects, and licensing agreements.
As Wiggins’ family works to resolve its own disagreements, the dispute underscores a familiar challenge for families of artists whose work continues to hold cultural and financial value long after their passing.
