Chadwick Boseman died on August 28, 2020, at the age of 43. He died without a will. He was survived by his parents, and by his wife, Taylor Simone Ledward. 

Boseman had a lengthy filmography. He was most famous for his portrayal of Black Panther in 4 Marvel comic movies, including “Black Panther”. He also played Jackie Robinson in “42” and Justice Thurgood Marshall in “Marshall”. 

Information about his estate was recently in the news. A few takeaways: 

      1. Boseman died without a Will

Surprisingly, Boseman died without a will, despite his having been diagnosed with colorectal cancer some time before his death. 

      2. Intestacy 

Boseman died without a will. Under California intestacy laws, as Boseman had no children and was survived by a spouse and his parents, his spouse will inherit his “community property” and half of his separate property, and the other half of his separate property will pass to his parents. 

Community property is, roughly speaking, property acquired by either spouse during the marriage. In Boseman’s case, he and his wife were married in a secret ceremony shortly before his death. They were engaged in October 2019. 

In Ontario, under the same circumstances, the estate would have passed entirely to his surviving spouse. 

Different jurisdictions have different intestacy rules. Making a will avoids the effect of the intestacy rules and allows you to determine where your estate will go. 

      3. Boseman’s Estate 

Boseman’s estate is said to have had a net value of $2.3m US. This is surprisingly low for the King of Wakanda. The movie “Black Panther” grossed almost $1.35 billion. 

      4. Colorectal Cancer 

Boseman’s early death due to colorectal cancer highlighted the prevalence of the disease. Boseman was diagnosed with stage III colorectal cancer in 2016 which progressed to stage IV and eventually claimed his life. 

His death illustrates the fact that younger people are increasingly developing colorectal cancer, and the need for prevention, screening and treatment. The median age of those diagnosed with the disease has been falling since the early 2000s. 

Thank you for reading. 

Paul Trudelle