Tenisha Warner, the widow of late actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, has entered multiple legal filings in an effort to collect around $1.27 million from a family trust headed by his mother, Pamela Warner.
Tenisha, 48, named Pamela on Monday in a lawsuit in Georgia’s DeKalb County Superior Court reviewed by The Daily Mail, which had been filed a year to the day the 54-year-old actor tragically drowned while on vacation in Costa Rica.
‘For the last year, I have attempted to privately settle my beloved husband’s complicated estate and honor his last wishes,’ Tenisha told the Daily Mail in a statement on Tuesday. ‘Malcolm had every intention to provide for our nine-year-old daughter [MacKenzie] and me.’
She said of the late star, who portrayed Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show: ‘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.’
Tenisha said she has ‘been struggling to care for our daughter as a single mom and now as her sole provider’ and legally ‘had no choice but to take action to protect our rights before any potential statute of limitations expired.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Tenisha Warner and Pamela Warner for further comment on the story.
Tenisha Warner, the widow of late actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, has entered multiple legal filings to collect around $1.27 million in a family trust, which is headed by his mother, Pamela Warner. Warner pictured 2023 in LA
Tenisha said in the Georgia filing that on May 15, 2022, she and the late actor had come to a prenuptial agreement in which he consented to making her the sole beneficiary of a life insurance policy worth $1 million, but he fell short on making key moves prior to his passing.
The late actor did not buy or keep up the life insurance policy, Tenisha said in the lawsuit.
Tenisha also cited in the suit unpaid expenses left by the late actor including $16,000 in yearly tax-free payments ‘per year on each anniversary of the parties’ marriage’ that eclipsed $50,000.
Tenisha said the late actor had agreed to place $30,500 into a Roth IRA in her name; and make to her a monthly payment of $5,000 for her work as his chief of staff and assistant, the total of which was around $195,000, according to the filing.
Tenisha said in the filing that she did not think his estate had been funded, and wanted the assets taken from a family trust the actor set up controlled by his mother.
‘Plaintiff performed all obligations required of her under the Agreement, including entering into and remaining in the marriage until the Decedent’s death,’ Tenisha said in the Georgia filing. ‘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.’
She also requested the court put a hold on the money in the estate so it is not distributed prior to the sorting of the legal case.
The filing in Los Angeles Superior Court named ‘The Warner Family Trust, dated October 7, 1996,’ in establishing the figure of $1,276,042.46 and related costs she asked for in the Georgia suit.
It was a petition for order of conveyance of trust property and related claims under probate code; establishment of payee of the trust; preservation of protective actions; determining the omitted spouse’s beneficial interest; instructing the trustee to preserve the assets; and for trustee to account.
Tenisha said in a July 17 petition in Los Angeles County Court reviewed by the Daily Mail that she is due ‘at least the total amount of $1,276,042.46 in addition to prejudgment and postjudgment interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs.’
Malcolm-Jamal Warner and mother Pamela Warner pictured in LA in 2015
The late star, who portrayed Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, was honored at the 2025 Emmys
Warner played the role of Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show opposite Cosby’s Dr. Heathcliff ‘Cliff’ Huxtable
Pamela Warner on Monday posted a statement to a memorial page in the late actor’s honor coinciding with the one-year anniversary of his passing.
‘Today has come so very quickly. It is amazing how a year of pain, hurt, loss, emotional de-stabilization, and most importantly growth, has come and sits here before me,’ she said in the emotional statement. ‘It has been a whirlwind of experiences, insights, discoveries and the realization that life can bring to your door-step the unimaginable.’
Later in the post, Pamela Warner said she has been at the end of a number of heavy life lessons following her son’s tragic death.
‘I have discovered how cruel, evil and greedy a human can be,’ she said. ‘I have also discovered the depth of love, care, concern and support that humans are capable of. All of which I have been the recipient of. The good, the bad and the ugly. These are the lessons that apparently I will need as I continue my journey.’
Pamela Warner wrapped up in urging people to ‘please take care of yourselves and those who you love.
She continued, ‘Let them know that they are loved. Clear up any beef you may have with your loved ones, if possible. Cleanse your spirit of negativity. We all have an expiration date.
‘Don’t leave or let your loved one leave without them knowing that they are loved and treasured. That knowledge and “clean plate” has helped me to survive.’
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