Jimmy Buffett’s widow has filed a court petition asking to replace her co-trustee on the late singer-songwriter’s $275 million estate, saying a business manager tapped to handle the assets has been “openly hostile and adversarial” while ignoring her requests for financial transparency.
The petition was filed Tuesday (June 3) by the late singer’s wife of 46 years, Jane Buffett, who married Jimmy Buffett in 1977 and was made sole beneficiary of a marital trust holding the bulk of the hitmaker’s assets upon his death in September 2023 at the age of 76. The court filing says these assets, including real estate and a 20% stake in his successful island-themed hospitality company Margaritaville, are worth roughly $275 million.
Jimmy’s will named Rick Mozenter, an accountant at the business management firm Gelfand Rennert & Feldman, as co-trustee to help Jane administer the estate. But Tuesday’s petition says that rather than help Jane, Mozenter has actually made life more difficult following her husband’s death.
“Mr. Mozenter has failed to perform even the most basic tasks required of him in his role as co-trustee, including providing Mrs. Buffett with information concerning trust assets and finances, which has left Mrs. Buffett in the dark with regard to the state of her own finances,” write Jane’s lawyers from the firm Sullivan & Cromwell. “Along the way, Mr. Mozenter has belittled, disrespected and condescended to Mrs. Buffett in response to her reasonable requests for information she undoubtedly was entitled to receive.”
According to the court filing, Jane met with Mozenter a month after Jimmy’s death in October 2023 and asked how much income she should expect to receive annually from the trust. Mozenter dragged his feet for 16 months, Jane’s lawyers say, repeatedly ignoring her requests to get an answer as she tried to make plans for her future.
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Mozenter finally provided this estimate in February 2025, and the results were “shocking.” Mozenter told Jane she would see less than $2 million in annual income — an amount that would not cover Jane’s expenses and “a remarkably poor return for a trust with an estimated $275 million in assets,” the petition states.
Jane’s lawyers say this estimate was especially surprising because the trust had received more than $14 million in distributions from Margaritaville over the previous 18 months. This made Jane concerned that Mozenter was mismanaging the trust and she requested additional financial information from him, but the accountant once again stonewalled.
The court filing also claims Mozenter has been “unprofessional and combative” to Jane and that he refused her request to sell a piece of Bahamas real estate, even though the Buffett family rarely uses this property and its costs more than $300,000 a year to operate. Mozenter has billed more than $1.7 million in fees while engaging in this alleged wrongdoing, Jane’s attorneys claim.
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“Faced with what clearly has become an unsolvable rift with Mr. Mozenter, and the prospect of having to continue to unsuccessfully request that he discharge his duties, on May 30, 2025, Mrs. Buffett asked that Mr. Mozenter resign as co-trustee,” says the petition. “Mr. Mozenter refused, insisting that he remain in a position of authority over her wealth. The situation is untenable and Mrs. Buffett requests this court’s assistance to resolve it.”
Jane’s lawyers are asking a judge to remove Mozenter from the trust and replace him with a new co-trustee. The petition suggests Daniel Neidich, the CEO of investment firm Dune Real Estate Partners, for the job.
Mozenter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the petition.
