Country Music Legend's Estate at Center of Legal Battle After His 2020 Death

Billy Joe Shaver's estate is at the center of a legal battle involving Willie Nelson's nephew, and the dispute will likely have to be resolved by a McLennan County, Texas jury. Back on June 2, a county judge dismissed Fred Fletcher's request to toss a 2003 will that names Shaver's nephew, Terry Dwayne Rogers, the inheritor of Shaver's estate. Fletcher is the son of Nelson's sister, the late Bobbie Nelson.

McLennan County Court-at-Law Judge Vik Deivanayagam rejected the summary judgment motion from Fletcher, reports KWTX. The ruling only affected Fletcher's attempt to stop the will Rogers wanted to take into probate proceedings. Deivanayagam will later schedule another hearing on the motion from Rogers, who wants to dismiss the 2008 hand-written will that Fletcher says leaves the Shaver estate to him. The judge also named retired state district judge Robert Stern as the temporary administrator of Shaver's estate until the dispute is solved.

Whitney Fanning, the Waco attorney representing Rogers with attorney Bruce Perryman, predicts the case will end up before a jury. "If I am going to leave all of my worldly possessions to someone, I am going to leave it to my family," Fanning told KWTX. " am not going to leave it to some music director whose sole purpose is to make money. My client has a proper will left to his family members, which is how we do things. That is kind of the way it is done. We take care of our family rather than someone who is not connected."

Shaver's 2000 will named his sister, Patricia, executrix and left his estate to her. However, the will was superseded by another one three years later, which leaves the estate to Patricia's son, Rogers. Those wills were prepared by Shaver's attorney, Elizabeth Miller, who died in January 2021.

The dispute began when Fletcher argued the 2003 will was no longer valid because Shaver allegedly wrote another will in 2008 that left everything to Fletcher. The 2008 will was witnessed by five others and written in Shaver's South Waco home. "I want him to continue to administer all my music business and to keep all profits," the 2008 will read.

On May 20, attorneys for both sides argued that their wills should be entered into probate. Fletcher's attorney, Andy McSwain, said Shaver told those present he no longer wanted Rogers to inherit his estate. Instead, he wanted Fletcher, a former drummer in Shaver's band and a music producer, to oversee his business. Fletcher no longer has the original will.

Perryman argued that the 2008 will should be dismissed without the original. "Our position is this copy is not admissible as evidence. Therefore, they have no case," Perryman said on May 20. Fanning also wondered why Shaver would write a will without Miller, as he did when he wanted to change his will in the past.

Shaver died on Oct. 28, 2020, in Waco after a stroke. He was considered a major figure in outlaw country, with songs like "I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train," "You Asked Me To," "I'm Just an Old Chunk of Coal," and "Ragged Old Truck." Attorneys for both sides could not estimate the worth of Shaver's estate, but they said the family continues to receive royalty checks thanks to his prolific songwriting.