MESSY: Dolly Parton’s Estate Files Restraining Order Against Late Singer’s Nephew

Dolly Parton’s estate requested a temporary restraining order against the late country singer’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, after he was fired from providing security for her properties, according to People and TMZ.

She’s Alive, LLC (SAL), the entity Parton designed to protect her legacy after her death, filed a lawsuit Sept. 22 alleging Seaver threatened to smear his aunt’s legacy and made violent threats against several employees, People reported, citing the filing.

Since the “Jolene” singer died on Aug. 25, her longtime manager Danny Nozell and Pinnacle Bank have overseen the administration and operations of her trust. According to People, the estate was granted a temporary restraining order against Seaver.

“Mr. Seaver began his campaign of threats, intimidation, and coercion a few weeks prior to Ms. Parton’s passing,” one filing states, People reported. “In writing, he vowed to ‘destroy the entire brand’ and also told her entertainment attorney: ‘I’m not an entertainment person. I’m a killer.'”

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JUST IN: Country music icon Dolly Parton, 80, has died.

Her nephew, Brian Seaver, made the announcement on Instagram.

"My name is Brin Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton… pic.twitter.com/ZYuUVUInhF

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 25, 2026

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The manager, Danny Nozell, representing She’s Alive, LLC (SAL), dismissed Bryan Seaver, who runs Squadron Augmented Protection Services, LLC (SAPS), on Sept. 15, about three weeks after the country superstar’s Aug. 25 death. It was Seaver who announced his aunt’s death to the world in an Instagram video. But an extensive fiiing made by the trust to a Tennessee court late Tuesday afternoon paint a different portrait of Seaver than the reverent one seen in the death announcement video. The legal paperwork alleges that in colorful and sometimes disturbing language, Seaver referred to himself as a mercenary and “killer” and threatened to interfere with Parton’s businesses, including Dollywood, if he did not receive proper payment, in texts sent both before and after her death.

The filing refers to Seaver’s claims of a paramilitary background and says he has dozens of employees who possess military-grade weaponry, and that some employees no longer come to work as a result of the alleged intimidation, while a lawyer who ran some of Parton’s music affairs stopped working for her as a result of the nephew’s ominous language.

The filing from the attorneys for She’s Alive states: “Mr. Seaver began his campaign of threats, intimidation, and coercion a few weeks prior to Ms. Parton’s passing. Those threats continued after her passing, and he aimed them directly at SAL’s personnel, counsel, and business partners. In writing, he vowed to ‘destroy the entire brand,’ threatened to ‘ratfuck every [business party] entity’ that helps operate Dollywood and called himself ‘literally an international arms dealer and mercenary.’ He threatened that ‘[e]veryone needs to be worried about what I might do,”and told Ms. Parton’s entertainment attorney: ‘I’m not an entertainment person. I’m a killer.’ He also threatened to launch a podcast ‘dedicated to ruining Dolly’s brand partnerships’ unless he was paid.”

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