Daveigh Chase Tried to Emancipate Herself from Mom as a Minor, Business Manager Claims in Filing
Daveigh Chase Tried to Emancipate Herself from Mom as a Minor, Business Manager Claims in Filing
Tommy McArdle, Danielle BacherThu, August 27, 2026 at 11:01 PM UTC
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Daveigh Chase on May 30, 2012Credit: Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty -
Daveigh Chase’s former business manager John Ryan filed a declaration opposing a petition from Chase’s mother, Cathy, to be appointed administrator of the late actress’ estate on Tuesday, Aug. 26
Chase died at 35 in Los Angeles on June 16
Ryan claimed in legal documents obtained by PEOPLE that in the 2000s, Chase worried that Cathy would take advantage of her finances and sought to legally emancipate herself from her mother
A new legal matter has further complicated who may take charge of Daveigh Chase‘s six-figure estate, more than two months after her death in Los Angeles at 35.
On Wednesday, Aug. 26, Chase’s former business manager, John Ryan, filed a declaration in the Los Angeles County Superior Court opposing a petition filed by the late actress’ mother, Cathy Chase, requesting that she be appointed as the administrator of her estate in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Daveigh, who died on June 16, left behind a six-figure estate without a will. Her mother Cathy, who said in a June interview that she had not seen Daveigh since 2019, petitioned the court to be appointed administrator of her estate on July 8.
Cathy Chase and Daveigh Chase on Feb. 29, 2004Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty
In the petition obtained by PEOPLE, Ryan asked that, instead, a licensed professional fiduciary or public administrator be installed.In his petition, he claimed that his company Artists for Artists (AFA) is “owed management fees for work prior to her death and on residuals received and to be received by her estate following her death.”Ryan also described himself as a personal friend of the late The Ring star, and claimed that Daveigh “filed for legal emancipation from her mother” in the 2000s due to concerns that Cathy “was taking advantage of Daveigh’s finances and putting Daveigh’s physical and mental well-being at risk.”
“I introduced Daveigh to a few professionals that I believed may be able to assist her in the legal emancipation process,” Ryan wrote in his petition. “Based on my professional and personal relationship with Daveigh and the information she provided to me regarding her relationship with Cathy Chase, I object, on behalf of AFA, to Cathy Chase’s appointment as administrative of Daveigh’s estate and request that the court appoint a licensed professional fiduciary or public administrator.”
Cathy’s attorney, Cliff Melnick, could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to probate documents filed on July 23 and obtained by PEOPLE, Daveigh’s father John Schwallier asked to oversee Chase’s estate through an administrator named Megan Boling, a licensed professional fiduciary and paralegal. Boling filed this petition roughly two weeks after Cathy first petitioned the court to be appointed administrator of Daveigh’s estate.
Daveigh’s parents divorced 32 years ago and Schwallier said that he had not spoken with Chase since she was 19, The New York Times reported in June.
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Schwallier’s petition requested that Boling be granted full authority under California’s Independent Administration of Estates Act to administer the estate and approve a $400,000 bond.
Boling could not be immediately reached for comment.
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In Ryan’s Aug. 26 filing, he shared his support for Boling’s appointment as administrator of Daveigh’s estate and stated that he supports “the appointment of a public administrator if there are objections to the appointment of Ms. Boling.”
The court has not yet made a decision regarding Daveigh’s estate. The next hearing is set for Feb. 10, 2027.
Daveigh was best known for voicing the character Lilo in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and portraying Samara Morgan in the 2002 horror film The Ring. A medical examiner’s report listed her cause of death as AIDS, with chronic polysubstance use noted as another significant condition.
Daveigh Chase on Feb. 10, 2012Credit: Todd Williamson/WireImage
In the years before her death, Daveigh struggled with addiction and homelessness, living on Los Angeles’ Skid Row. She had not appeared on the big screen since 2016, when she acted in the movies American Romance and Jack Goes Home.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
