A legal fight has erupted over the estate of the late Tony! Toni! Toné! co-founder D’Wayne Wiggins, with members of the musician’s family now battling in court over control of assets reportedly valued at roughly $700,000.
According to court filings obtained by TMZ, Wiggins’ daughter, Ilahn Wiggins, is challenging the handling of the singer’s estate nearly a year after his death.
Ilahn states that her father — the guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter best known for helping lead Tony! Toni! Toné! to R&B stardom — left behind an estate worth about $700,000. She and her two brothers are now disputing who should be responsible for managing those assets following his passing.
The filings indicate that a relative, Wiggins’ niece Veleta Savannah, is listed on the musician’s death certificate and allegedly informed the singer’s children after his death that she had been named trustee of the estate.
Ilahn claims Savannah also barred the siblings from entering their father’s home. The dispute escalated when Ilahn alleged that Savannah used a power of attorney document to withdraw approximately $20,000 from one of Wiggins’ bank accounts.
Ilahn’s filing argues that the siblings believe their father never intended to exclude them from his estate and questions changes to his will that were allegedly made shortly before his death.
The court documents also state that the children believe the final version of the will may have been executed while Wiggins was receiving end-of-life care and taking medications that could have affected his mental state.
Savannah has rejected those claims, maintaining that Wiggins was fully aware of his decisions and intended to disinherit his children.
The legal conflict has drawn attention because of Wiggins’ long-standing influence in R&B through Tony! Toni! Toné!, the Oakland trio he formed in the 1980s alongside his brother Raphael Saadiq and cousin Timothy Christian Riley.
The group helped shape modern soul with albums like The Revival and Sons of Soul, producing hits including “Feels Good,” “It Never Rains (In Southern California),” and the enduring slow jam “Anniversary.”
Outside the group, Wiggins also worked as a songwriter and producer for artists such as D’Angelo, En Vogue, and Tevin Campbell, and later served as bandleader on comedian D.L. Hughley’s television program Weekends at the D.L.
Wiggins died on March 7, 2025, in Oakland following a battle with cancer.