EXCLUSIVE: Dolly Parton's 'Family at War Over Her Multimillion Fortune'

Dolly Parton had fond memories of growing up with her 11 siblings in a two-room cabin in Sevierville, Tenn., RadarOnline.com can reveal.

The country legend said in 2016: "It was crowded. With that many brothers and sisters, there was plenty of teasing and fighting, but we were all in it together. Not everything was perfect, but I prefer to remember the best of times."

As she rose to fame, the Jolene singer – who died on Aug. 25 at age 80 after a brief bout with cancer – made it her mission to ensure her family members would be taken care of financially.

In 2001, the music superstar's warring relatives had gone to court over how to manage their mother's care and $1million in assets.

Burned by the experience, Parton vowed to have a will in place with crystal-clear instructions on exactly what to do with her $650million fortune.

"Dolly was very upset by the fighting that went on in her family," said a source. "It's a big reason why she was so meticulous in organizing her estate and where everything would go prior to her passing."

According to the source, despite Parton's good intentions, her remaining Parton siblings (Willadeene, 86, Robert Jr., 78, Stella, 77, Cassie, 75, Freida, 69, and Rachel, 67) and her dozens of nieces and nephews and their children are nevertheless feuding over Dolly's estate. Her husband of nearly 59 years, Carl Dean, died in 2025.

"She dotted every 'i' and crossed every 't' so there would be no fighting," said the source. "Or so she hoped."

For decades, Dolly was the glue that held the Parton family together.

She employed several relatives at her Pigeon Forge theme park, Dollywood, and collaborated with many of her siblings on music and book projects. Her sister Cassie's son Bryan Weaver, who announced Dolly's death on social media, had been the singer's head of security for two decades, succeeding his father.

"Dolly gave so much to people around her, it was her purpose in life to share as much as she possibly could," said the source.

In a Facebook tribute, Dolly's sister Stella called her "one of the most generous, thoughtful and kind people" she'd ever known.

But her generosity had been abused in the past. Dolly's sister Freida was involved in a now-settled workers' compensation claim against Dollywood in 1989 after she hurt her back while employed there, and in 2001, Freida and her late twin brother, Floyd, sided against Dolly when the 9 to 5 star and the rest of her siblings tried to get a conservatorship for their ailing mom so they could manage her funds.

In 2007, an investigation found Dolly's now-deceased brother Randy, who reportedly had a drinking problem, had spent $2.4million in public money on his troubled venue, The Randy Parton Theater (he denied misusing public funds), and a second source said Dolly paid $25,000 for his late daughter Tever – who struggled with addiction to crack cocaine and OxyContin and was arrested in 2006 for alleged assault – to enter rehab.

A police report for Tever's 2006 arrest is no longer on record, and later her record was mysteriously expunged following another arrest on drug-intoxication and weapons charges in 2016.

The missing documents have fueled suspicion of a cover-up, possibly paid for with Dolly's money.

"Dolly did occasionally feel a bit traumatized and overwhelmed while supporting family members with addiction issues," said the first source. "And there were times when she felt taken for granted, but she didn't really dwell on that."

Indeed, the 11-time Grammy winner credited her family with making her a more compassionate person.

"I've often said I've got some of everybody in my own immediate family, and in my family of employees. I've got gays, I've got lesbians, I've got trans, I've got alcoholics, I've got drug addicts," she said. "I've got some of everybody in my own family, so I naturally love them, accept them."

As the Parton family skeletons come out of the closet, there's still hope her final wishes will be honored. In a 2020 interview – after fellow music legends Prince and Aretha Franklin died without wills – Dolly told Billboard she would "not want to leave that mess to somebody else."

Said the first source: "Dolly was fiercely determined to make sure there would be no scenario in which people question her decisions. All she really cared about was giving back, without a doubt."