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Daveigh Chase’s friend and former business manager, John Ryan, is weighing in on her parents’ legal battle over who will control and manage the late actress’ $400,000 estate.
Ryan — who is siding with Daveigh’s father, John Schwallier — filed paperwork objecting to her mom Cathy Chase’s petition to administer the late star’s estate, according to court docs obtained by Us on Thursday, August 27. He claimed Daveigh told him she wanted to be emancipated from her mom years ago and that he helped her.
“I am aware from my conversations with Daveigh that in the mid-2000s, she filed for legal emancipation from her mother,” he stated in the docs. “At that time, Daveigh told me that she wanted to take this action because she believed that her mother was taking advantage of Daveigh’s finances and putting Daveigh’s physical and mental well-being at risk. Thereafter, I introduced Daveigh to a few professionals that I believed may be able to assist her in the legal emancipation process.”
As her manager, Ryan claimed he is owed fees for work prior to her death and on residuals after her death.
“Daveigh was estranged from her father when her parents divorced … and still, while a minor, Daveigh became estranged from her mother,” Ryan alleged.
Daveigh’s mom is challenging ex Schwallier’s claim that the Lilo & Stitch star was emancipated from her.
“Cathy does not concede that [her daughter] ever filed for or obtained a declaration of emancipation. She has no knowledge of any such proceeding, was never served with the notice required … and never received the consent form required,” she stated in court docs filed on August 19.
She added that the claim is “entirely unsupported.”
“Even if an emancipation order existed, it would establish nothing about Cathy’s present fitness to administer this estate,” the docs read.
Daveigh’s father filed his own paperwork to appoint his nomination for an administrator of the estate and objected to Cathy filing to appoint herself.
Schwallier’s attorney filed the objection paperwork on August 17, requesting that the court deny Cathy’s petition and approve his nomination or hire a neutral third party.
In his filing, Schwallier acknowledged that Daveigh was estranged from both of her parents and was living on the streets of Los Angeles. He also alleged lack of competency and “believes Daveigh filed for emancipation … from [Cathy] due to allegations of financial irregularities by [her mother].”
Schwallier also objected to Cathy being appointed to manage the estate because she had been separated from Daveigh since her alleged emancipation.
Meanwhile, Cathy is asking the court to deny her ex-husband’s request for appointment as administrator and to deny his alternative request for appointment of a neutral party.
She claimed she has priority as an heir and is “fully competent.” She also cited that she previously took on the role as a trustee for her late daughter and didn’t take money for the role.
According to her lawyer, “a parent who voluntarily doubled the statutory protection of her child’s earnings, and served without pay in doing so, is not a person this court needs to displace in favor of a paid stranger.”
Daveigh died at age 35 in June, her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, confirmed at the time, telling TMZ that she had battled meningitis and an infection in her blood that led to sepsis. Her cause of death was later confirmed to be acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) with other significant conditions including chronic polysubstance use, Us exclusively reported.
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