Daveigh Chase’s Former Business Manager Claims She Believed Her Mother Put Her Finances and Well-Being at Risk

A legal fight over the estate of late actress Daveigh Chase is becoming increasingly contentious, with her former business manager now weighing in on the dispute between her parents.

John Ryan, a longtime friend and former business manager of the Lilo & Stitch star, has filed court paperwork opposing Daveigh’s mother, Cathy Chase, in her effort to gain control of the actress’ estate, which is reportedly valued at approximately $400,000.

According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Thursday, August 27, Ryan is siding with Daveigh’s father, John Schwallier, and claims that Daveigh had serious concerns about her mother years before her death.

In his filing, Ryan alleged that Daveigh told him in the mid-2000s that she wanted to become legally emancipated from Cathy.

“I am aware from my conversations with Daveigh that in the mid-2000s, she filed for legal emancipation from her mother,” Ryan stated in the court documents.

Ryan claimed Daveigh believed her mother was taking advantage of her financially and that the situation was also affecting her overall welfare.

According to Ryan, Daveigh told him she wanted emancipation because she believed Cathy was “taking advantage of Daveigh’s finances and putting Daveigh’s physical and mental well-being at risk.”

Ryan said he attempted to help the young actress at the time by connecting her with professionals who might be able to guide her through the emancipation process.

“Thereafter, I introduced Daveigh to a few professionals that I believed may be able to assist her in the legal emancipation process,” he stated.

Ryan’s involvement in the probate battle is not limited to his personal relationship with Daveigh.

As her former manager, he also claims he is owed money for professional services performed before her death, as well as fees connected to residual payments generated after her death.

Ryan further alleged that Daveigh’s relationships with both of her parents became fractured while she was still young.

“Daveigh was estranged from her father when her parents divorced … and still, while a minor, Daveigh became estranged from her mother,” he claimed.

The question of whether Daveigh was ever legally emancipated from Cathy has become one of the central issues in the ongoing dispute.

Cathy strongly denies that there is evidence proving her daughter ever completed such a legal process.

In court documents filed on August 19, Cathy challenged Schwallier’s assertion that Daveigh had been emancipated.

“Cathy does not concede that [her daughter] ever filed for or obtained a declaration of emancipation,” her filing stated.

Cathy claimed she was never made aware of any emancipation proceedings involving Daveigh.

“She has no knowledge of any such proceeding, was never served with the notice required … and never received the consent form required,” the documents stated.

Her legal team characterized the allegation as “entirely unsupported.”

Cathy’s attorneys also argued that even if Daveigh had obtained an emancipation order many years ago, it would not necessarily determine whether Cathy is qualified to manage her daughter’s estate now.

“Even if an emancipation order existed, it would establish nothing about Cathy’s present fitness to administer this estate,” her legal filing argued.

The dispute began after both parents took competing positions over who should oversee Daveigh’s assets.

Schwallier has filed paperwork asking the court to reject Cathy’s attempt to appoint herself as administrator.

Instead, he wants the court to approve the person he has nominated to oversee the estate.

Schwallier’s attorney filed formal objection papers on August 17, asking the court either to approve his proposed administrator or, alternatively, appoint a neutral third party with no direct stake in the family dispute.

In his own filing, Schwallier acknowledged that Daveigh had become estranged from both of her parents.

He also stated that before her death, she had been living on the streets of Los Angeles.

Schwallier raised concerns about Daveigh’s condition and alleged that questions about her competency were relevant to the circumstances surrounding her finances and personal affairs.

He also repeated the allegation that Daveigh had sought emancipation from Cathy.

According to the filing, Schwallier “believes Daveigh filed for emancipation … from [Cathy] due to allegations of financial irregularities by [her mother].”

Schwallier argued that Cathy should not be given control of the estate partly because she and Daveigh had allegedly been separated from each other since the purported emancipation.

Cathy, however, is fighting back against both of her former husband’s proposals.

She is asking the court to deny Schwallier’s request involving his preferred administrator and also reject his alternative suggestion that an independent third party be appointed.

Cathy argues that she has legal priority to serve as administrator because she is one of Daveigh’s heirs.

She has also described herself as “fully competent” to perform the responsibilities required in administering the estate.

Her lawyers have pointed to Cathy’s previous role as a trustee for Daveigh as evidence that she can responsibly manage financial matters.

According to her court filing, Cathy previously handled funds connected to her daughter without taking compensation for the role.

Her attorney also emphasized that Cathy allegedly provided protections for Daveigh’s earnings that went beyond what was legally required.

“A parent who voluntarily doubled the statutory protection of her child’s earnings, and served without pay in doing so, is not a person this court needs to displace in favor of a paid stranger,” her lawyer argued.

The legal battle follows Daveigh’s death at just 35 years old.

The actress died in June, according to her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez.

At the time, Hernandez told TMZ that Daveigh had been battling meningitis as well as a bloodstream infection that ultimately resulted in sepsis.

Additional information later emerged regarding her health.

According to a subsequent report by Us Weekly, Daveigh’s cause of death was confirmed as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS.

The report also listed chronic polysubstance use among other significant conditions connected to her death.

Daveigh had been known to audiences from a young age.

She became especially recognizable for voicing Lilo Pelekai in Disney’s 2002 animated film Lilo & Stitch and also appeared in projects including The Ring and the television series Big Love.

Her death drew renewed attention to the difficult circumstances she had reportedly experienced later in life, including estrangement from family members and periods of housing instability.

Now, months after her death, those complicated family relationships have become central to the legal battle over what she left behind.

At stake is not only control of the approximately $400,000 estate but also competing accounts of Daveigh’s relationship with her mother and whether she had legally separated herself from Cathy while still a minor.

Ryan’s newly filed declaration adds another voice supporting Schwallier’s version of events, but Cathy continues to dispute the underlying emancipation claim and insists she remains the appropriate person to administer her daughter’s estate.

Ultimately, the court will have to determine whether Cathy, Schwallier’s nominee or a neutral third party should be placed in charge.

Until then, the dispute surrounding Daveigh Chase’s estate appears likely to remain deeply personal — involving not just financial questions, but unresolved disagreements over the actress’ family history and the decisions she may have made years before her death.