Daveigh Chase tried to divorce her mother at 16, and her mother now wants the estate

If you thought family squabbles over an actor's fortune only happened on soap operas, wait until you get a load of what's going on with Daveigh Chase's estate. The Lilo & Stitch and Donnie Darko star died at 35, and that's set off a legal tug-of-war over the $400,000 she left behind—complete with old grudges and professional mudslinging.

Daveigh Chase's estate, valued at $400,000, is at the centre of a heated family and legal dispute following her death in 2024.

The Family Drama Unpacked

Here's the situation, as pieced together from all sides: After Daveigh died last year, her mother, Cathy Chase, put her hand up to be named administrator of the estate—meaning, she'd be in charge of all the assets, debts and the distribution.

But not everyone's having that. Straight away, Daveigh's dad, John Schwallier, told the court he wanted an independent, third-party professional to manage the estate instead. He didn't exactly sugarcoat things either—he made it clear Daveigh had been estranged from her mum.

Adding another twist, Daveigh's ex-business manager, John Ryan, has thrown in a formal objection against Cathy Chase overseeing anything to do with the estate. Just to keep things lively, he backed Schwallier and said a third-party administrator was the only sensible move. Both Ryan and Schwallier have filed the paperwork to stop Cathy getting control.

Accusations and Allegations

The real heat in this story comes from the accusations swirling around Daveigh's relationship with her parents. Ryan, in his objection filed with the court, gave a pretty stark picture of Daveigh's family ties (or lack of them) over the years. He laid out, in the legal documents, that Daveigh became estranged from her father during her parents' divorce. Even more seriously, Ryan claims Daveigh told him herself that, back in the mid-2000s, she actually tried to become legally emancipated from her mother. The reasons? Allegations of financial exploitation and worries about her own well-being.

Here's how Ryan put it in his legal filings:

She believed that her mother was taking advantage of [her] finances and putting [her] physical and mental well-being at risk.

With all this mess in the open, it's no wonder Daveigh's father even suggested the name of a licensed professional fiduciary, Megan Boiling, to handle the estate and keep things clean. As for where this all lands—who'll actually end up responsible for the late star's money and possessions—it's still in the hands of the court, with no ruling yet.

The whole dispute kicked off following Daveigh Chase's death, which, as revealed by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, was primarily due to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. So, a tragic end, followed by a lot of questions about who, exactly, should be in charge of her legacy.