A year after his death, Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s widow, Dr. Tenisha Delilah Warner, is taking legal action against his mother, Pamela Warner.
In a lawsuit filed on July 20 in DeKalb County Superior Court in Georgia, Tenisha Delilah Warner claims that she is owed more than $1.2 million under a premarital agreement, including a $1 million life insurance policy that was never put in place by her late husband, who died in July 2025.
Tenisha Warner also alleges that The Cosby Show actor agreed to pay her $16,000 tax-free each year on their wedding anniversary, fund her Roth IRA for as long as they remained married, and pay her $5,000 a month for working as his chief of staff and assistant.
As a result, Tenisha Warner has named Pamela Warner in the lawsuit because she is the successor trustee of the Warner Family Trust.
“For the last year, I have attempted to privately settle my beloved husband’s complicated estate and honor his last wishes,” Tenisha Delilah Warner told ABC News in a statement. “Malcolm had every intention to provide for our nine-year-old daughter and me.”
She continued, “He was close to finalizing a new estate plan to replace the stale plan created in 1996 when he was 26 years old, 20 years before we met and well before we gave birth to our beautiful daughter. Sadly, he was unable to do so before we lost him.”
“I have been struggling to care for our daughter as a single mom and now as her sole provider,” she added. “Legally, I had no choice but to take action to protect our rights before any potential statute of limitations expired. We thank you for your support, love, and understanding as we work through this painful process while honoring Malcolm’s life on the first anniversary of his death.”
Tenisha Warner is asking a judge to prevent any trust assets from being distributed while the case moves forward.
ABC News has reached out to Pamela Warner for comment but she did not immediately respond.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who is known for playing Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, died on July 20, 2025, while swimming during a family vacation in Costa Rica. The actor was caught by a strong rip current. He was 54.
On the anniversary of his death, Pamela Warner took to Instagram to pay tribute to her son in a lengthy message.
“He was not just my son, but my go-to person, my confidant, my brother and sometimes he had to parent me,” Pamela Warner wrote.
She added, “As I look back, I have no regrets. Perhaps a little more time. Perhaps one more chance to cook his favorite meals, have one last good conversation, one last good deep belly laugh, the kind that produces those tears of pure joy, one last kiss, one last hug.”
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