Dolly Parton’s carefully organised estate has become embroiled in a legal dispute less than a month after her death at 80. Her company, She’s Alive LLC, has sued her nephew and former head of security, Bryan Seaver, alleging that he tried to extort money from the estate and made violent threats; the case shows that even detailed inheritance planning cannot guarantee family agreement.

Under Parton’s estate plan, her music catalogue, Dollywood and brand interests were transferred to a company run by longtime manager Danny Nozell. Seaver denies making threats and says his comments were taken out of context, while the estate is seeking a restraining order keeping him away from its staff and operations; he remains a beneficiary, but legal experts suggest he may be unhappy with his inheritance and seeking more money. Lawyers note that similar disputes have affected estates linked to Prince, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Buffett and Tony Bennett.