What Dolly Parton’s estate fight reveals about family business succession

Dolly Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver announced the legendary singer’s death on August 25, 2026, in a prerecorded video. Seaver, the son of one of Parton’s 11 siblings, had been her head of security for many years. But Seaver is embroiled in a messy dispute with She’s Alive LLC, the company Parton established to manage her business assets after her death. This acrimonious fight highlights some of the business succession problems that can arise when the founder of a company dies but wants its...