A month after Daveigh Chase's tragic death, the late Lilo & Stitch and The Ring star is once again making headlines—this time over her estate. Court documents reveal the actress died without a will, leaving behind roughly $400,000 in assets, and now her mother is asking a judge to put her in charge of what's left.
According to filings in Los Angeles County Superior Court obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Cathy Chase petitioned the court on July 8 to be appointed as administrator of her daughter's estate. If approved, she'll gain legal authority to manage Chase's finances and property. A probate hearing has been scheduled for August 12.
The legal filing comes just weeks after the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner officially ruled that Chase died from AIDS-related complications, with chronic polysubstance use listed as another significant condition. The actress died on June 16 at age 35 after years of addiction, homelessness, and life away from Hollywood.
Once one of the industry's brightest child stars, Chase became a pop culture icon through her unforgettable performances as Samara Morgan in The Ring and the voice of Lilo Pelekai in Disney's Lilo & Stitch.
In the weeks following her daughter's death, Cathy Chase blamed prescription painkillers for setting her on a devastating path after a motorcycle accident. "She was seeking drugs and was partying with the wrong people," she said at the time. "I never kicked my daughter out. She wanted freedom, and these people got her hooked on some drugs. That was the beginning."
Cathy also disputed claims that she and her daughter had become estranged.
That account, however, differs sharply from one shared publicly by Roy Hernandez, who identified himself as Chase's boyfriend. In a GoFundMe campaign created shortly before the actress died, Hernandez alleged Chase endured "a painful falling out with her family" and years of instability.
"Behind the scenes, she's faced more than her share of hardship," he wrote. "After a difficult childhood and a painful falling out with her family, Daveigh was bullied and struggled to find safety and happiness in downtown L.A."
Hernandez was also the first to disclose that Chase had been hospitalized with meningitis and severe blood infections before her death, initially attributing her passing to complications from sepsis.
