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(NewsNation) – Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s widow is suing his mother for $1.2 million over a prenuptial agreement.
On the one-year anniversary of his death, Tenisha Warner filed a lawsuit against Pamela Warner, the trustee of the late actor’s trust, in DeKalb County Superior Court, according to multiple media outlets.
In court documents obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and CBS News, among several other outlets, Tenisha Warner alleges that Warner promised to give her several financial benefits outlined in their May 2022 prenuptial agreement, but they weren’t fulfilled before his death last year. A spokesperson for Tenisha also provided statements to CBS News and USA Today after the lawsuit was filed.
“The Cosby Show” alum had agreed to maintain a $1 million life insurance policy, with Tenisha as the sole beneficiary, according to the lawsuit.
Tenisha claims that Warner, who reportedly earned $680,000 a year and was worth around $3.4 million, never bought the policy.
The lawsuit alleges Malcolm-Jamal Warner did not pay Tenisha for her services as his “chief of staff,” nor did he pay her additional annual payments agreed to in the prenup. She further claims he did not fund her tax-free retirement account or a college fund for their daughter, Us Weekly reports.
Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner (R) and Pamela Warner attend The 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards at the STAPLES Center on February 8, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage) FILE – Malcolm-Jamal Warner arrives at the 65th annual Grammy Awards, Feb. 5, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
“Plaintiff performed all obligations required of her under the agreement, including entering into and remaining in the marriage until the decedent’s death,” the lawsuit reads, per Us Weekly. “The decedent died without having satisfied his obligations under the agreement, and no person or entity has paid or provided the sums due to plaintiff under the agreement.”
His widow is suing the Warner Family Trust for $1.2 million, arguing that the actor’s estate doesn’t have enough money to cover the alleged debt, according to TMZ.
Tenisha is also trying to prevent Pamela Warner from distributing any funds from the Family Trust until the legal issue is resolved.
“Malcolm had every intention to provide for our nine-year-old daughter and me,” reads a statement shared with USA Today and CBS News on behalf of Tenisha. “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.”
Malcolm-Jamal Warner accidentally drowned on vacation with Tenisha and their daughter in Costa Rica on July 20, 2025. He was 54.
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