Mother of Late Actress Daveigh Chase Seeks to Manage $400,000 Estate

The mother of former child star Daveigh Chase has filed legal documents seeking control of her daughter’s estimated $400,000 estate after the actress died without leaving a will.

Best known for voicing Lilo in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and playing the terrifying Samara Morgan in The Ring, Chase died at 35. Weeks later, her mother, Cathy Chase, petitioned the Los Angeles County Superior Court to administer her daughter’s assets under California’s Independent Administration of Estates Act.

Because Chase died intestate—without a will—the court must appoint an administrator to manage her estate. Probate documents estimate her estate at $400,000 in personal property and list no real estate holdings. Cathy Chase has also asked the court to approve a $400,000 bond, a standard safeguard during probate proceedings. The court will hear the petition on August 12.

The filings state that Chase never married, had no children, and is survived by her parents. Although she achieved early success as a child actor, her Hollywood career did not maintain the same momentum into adulthood.

In her final years, Chase struggled with addiction and homelessness. Medical records identify AIDS as the primary cause of death and cite chronic polysubstance use as a contributing factor. Cathy Chase said her daughter’s struggles began after a 2016 motorcycle accident, when prescribed pain medication allegedly led to substance dependency. She also rejected claims that the family abandoned the actress, saying they repeatedly tried to help her access treatment.

Chase rose to fame in the early 2000s as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable young performers. In addition to Lilo & Stitch and The Ring, she appeared in Donnie Darko and voiced Chihiro in the English-language version of Spirited Away. Despite her early success, she gradually stepped away from the spotlight.

If the court grants the petition, Cathy Chase will oversee the estate by protecting its assets, notifying creditors, maintaining financial records, and distributing the inheritance in accordance with California probate law.