Family War: John Singleton's Mom Shuts Down Her Granddaughter's Demand for 4-Figure Monthly Allowance From Late Director's Estate
Sept. 5 2023, Published 11:30 a.m. ET
A judge has sided with John Singleton’s mother Sheila Ward in her fight with her late son’s daughter Cleopatra over a monthly 4-figure sum she had demanded, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, a hearing was recently held in Los Angeles Superior Court on the matter.
Sheila was put in charge of running Singleton’s estate following his 2019 death.
Recently, Singleton’s mother submitted her final report which revealed her son left behind $6 million in assets along with his various businesses, which continue to be paid residuals for his past work.
Singleton’s children Justice, Selenesol, Hadar, Massai, Cleopatra, Isis, and Seven will share a 1/7 interest in his estate.
In addition, Sheila asked the court for permission to stop paying Cleopatra $2,700 per month for tuition.
Singleton’s mom explained the allowance was initially approved by the court in December 2019. The funds were to be used to help Cleopatra because she was a “full-time student who did not have other sources of income.”
In her filing, Sheila claimed Cleopatra graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in May 2021 but was still being paid.
Singleton’s mom asked that Cleopatra’s final payout from the estate be reduced by the amount she was paid after her graduation date.
Cleopatra argued her grandmother’s request should be denied. She said she was still taking online classes.
The daughter even asked the court to not approve Sheila’s final report. She said it contained inaccurate information and failed to provide proof for certain transactions mentioned.
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Now, the judge ruled that Sheila presented sufficient evidence to terminate the monthly allowance to Cleopatra.
As RadarOnline.com first reported, last year, Cleopatra demanded $1 million from the estate. She claimed her late father had failed to maintain a life insurance policy that named her as the sole beneficiary, which she claimed was required by a court order.
Another reason Cleopatra argued the case should be denied was the fact that her mother Vestria Barlow had a pending $15 million lawsuit against Sheila.
As we first reported, Vestria sued Sheila and other defendants for fraud. In the lawsuit, she claimed to have been Singleton’s producing partner over the years and was owed 7-10 percent of residuals owed to the late director — including any profits from Snowfall and Baby Boy.
Sheila denied all allegations in the lawsuit. The federal lawsuit is ongoing.
