Dolly Parton Estate Gets Restraining Order Against Nephew

by Hannah / Sep 26, 2026 05:15 PM EDT

A Nashville judge has ordered Dolly Parton's nephew to stay away from the people who run her estate's business affairs, one month after the country music star's death. The order is temporary, the allegations behind it come from the estate's own court filing, and the nephew denies them.

What the court has ordered

Parton died Aug. 25 at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer. Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in a prerecorded video.

On Tuesday, Sept. 22, She's Alive, the company that manages Parton's business interests and is run by manager Danny Nozell, asked the Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville for a temporary restraining order against Seaver. Chancellor I'Ashea L. Myles granted it the next day, Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Under the order, Seaver and his company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services, must stay 1,000 feet from She's Alive employees, attorneys and business partners, and must stay off estate property. He is also barred from harassing or interfering with them. A hearing is set for Oct. 7.

A temporary restraining order is not a finding that the allegations are true. It preserves the situation until a judge can hear both sides.

What the estate alleges

The filing describes what it calls escalating threats. According to the filing, a Sept. 1 message from Seaver said: "I'm going to set up a podcast dedicated to ruining Dolly's brand partnerships... Or f------ pay me."

The filing also says Seaver described himself as an "international arms dealer and mercenary" and claimed to have "just sold 29 million dollars worth of ammo to Haiti." It says he told a member of the legal team: "I'm not an entertainment person. I'm a killer."

The estate says the estate's attorney left and staff resigned, and that private security was hired. It says it terminated Seaver the prior week.

What Seaver says

Seaver told ABC News that he has never threatened anyone. "Dolly called me her killer. It was a joke we used around her camp," he said. "I've never threatened anyone."

He said he was fired a week after the estate negotiated "services in perpetuity" and described the threats as "contrived."

What legal observers say

CBS legal analyst Caroline Polisi said the messages paint "a very scary picture," but that the filing is "light on the technical legal details." Those two assessments describe the strength of the estate's case at this early stage, not its outcome.

Who is involved

Seaver is the son of one of Parton's 11 siblings and reportedly remains a beneficiary of the trust, according to secondary reports. The estate includes Dollywood. Parton's husband, Carl Dean, died last year, and the couple had no children.

Her legacy work continues

While the dispute proceeds, work tied to Parton's public legacy is moving ahead. Disney announced Sept. 25 that a restored "9 to 5" will return to theaters Oct. 9-15 for a "Give Like Dolly Day." Net U.S. ticket proceeds will go to the Dollywood Foundation for Imagination Library, which has distributed more than 300 million books since 1995. The CMA is also scheduled to air a special on Oct. 21.