Malcolm Jamal Warner's Wife Sues His Mother For $1.2M

Nobody wins when the family feuds.

That’s as true as it ever was, and unfortunately, this is what’s happening between Malcolm Jamal Warner’s wife, Tenisha Warner, and his mother, Pamela Warner.

On the first anniversary of his death, Tenisha, 48, has filed a lawsuit seeking $1.2M from her husband’s trust. She says he promised to purchase a million-dollar life insurance policy in a prenuptial agreement, but never did so. Pamela, believed to be in her 70s, is the successor trustee of the Warner Family Trust, which was established 30 years ago.

“For the last year, I have attempted to privately settle my beloved husband’s complicated estate and honor his last wishes,” Tenisha said in a statement to People after the lawsuit was filed.

“Malcolm had every intention to provide for our 9-year-old daughter and me,” she continued. “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.”

Tenisha added that she was “struggling” to take care of their daughter as her sole provider in the aftermath of her husband’s death. Warner, 54, died in an accidental drowning in Costa Rica while on vacation last year.

“Legally, I had no choice but to take action to protect our rights before any potential statute of limitations expired,” Tenisha’s statement concluded. “We thank you for your support, love and understanding as we work through this painful process while honoring Malcolm’s life on the first anniversary of his death.”

In an interview with Gayle King for CBS Mornings that was conducted before the lawsuit became public, Tenisha says that their daughter witnessed the attempt to save him, though she doesn’t clearly remember what happened the day he died. She does say she is still grieving.

“I think the hardest thing about grief is that people, they move on,” she told King. “But for us, for his wife and child, there’s no moving on. There’s moving with and living with.”

Pamela was interviewed on the Tamron Hall Show to mark the year-anniversary of her son’s death. She didn’t reference the lawsuit, but in an Instagram post on July 20, the day her son died, she made a reference to “greedy, evil” people she’s had to contend with since he passed.

“I have discovered how cruel, evil and greedy a human can be,” Pamela posted, after saying that while she is also still grieving his loss, that she felt peace that she and Malcolm were in a good space.

“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.”

See social media’s reaction to the unfortunate family drama below.