Tenisha Warner made her grief and financial struggles public in July as she marked a year since the loss of her husband, actor Malcom-Jamal Warner. Now, her circle is speaking for Tenisha to request help with caring for the couple’s daughter.

Destiny Rael, who identified herself through a fundraiser set up on GoFundMe for Tenisha as her “closest friend for 19 years,” said she was starting the campaign “because I have witnessed, up close, the depth of Tenisha’s grief and the weight she has had to carry, and because I know she would never ask for this kind of support herself, so I am asking on her behalf.”

Rael detailed how in addition to trying to manage her grief, Tenisha has been homeschooling their 9-year-old daughter McKenzie, which was something she says the couple wanted for their child. She also has experienced flooding to their marital home, requiring repairs, which of course, is costly.

“She has stretched every resource she has and borrowed from people who love her just to keep one foot in front of the other,” she wrote. “You may assume that Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s career left his wife and daughter financially secure. That was his intention. Malcolm had worked with his attorneys to update his estate plan to provide for his wife and daughter, but he passed away before he could sign it. They thought they had time.”

To make matters more complex, she noted that Tenisha had stepped back from her career in psychology years ago to care for their daughter.

“The funds will help ease the financial strain, cover the expenses she is now facing, and provide security for Tenisha and her daughter as they work toward resolving Malcolm’s affairs,” Rael concluded. “I am not asking anyone to take sides in a family matter that was never meant to be public. I am asking you to stand with a grieving wife and mother, and her young daughter, so they don’t lose what Malcolm always intended to provide for them.”

The campaign, set up on the 11th of August, has already raised $38,048 at the time of writing with a goal of $40k. More than 100 donations have been given, with the top contribution being a whopping $32,300.

This drive comes as Tenisha has filed multiple actions in different states in order to access funds from his estate plan. It wasn’t updated before his death in 2025 to reflect the fact that he’d been married and welcomed a child. That estate plan included the Warner Family Trust, dating back to 1996. Assets not placed into a direct trust were transferred into the Warner Family Trust after his death. The trust then would determine how assets are managed and allocated. Pamela Warner, the actor’s mother, has become the successor trustee.

One of Tenisha’s filings stated that Malcolm hadn’t fulfilled the obligations outlined in the couple’s prenuptial agreement, including obtaining a $1 million life insurance policy with her as the sole beneficiary, providing her with a monthly salary, making anniversary payments, and contributing to retirement funding. In California, she filed an action on her daughter’s behalf regarding the Warner Family Trust. You can read the full explainer of her legal filings in our story about Warner and Chadwick Boseman’s estates, which are both in the news due to legal actions taken by their closest loved ones.

We wish the entire family well as this situation is incredibly sad and of great difficulty to navigate. As for the fundraiser, it’s nice to see so many come to the aid of a grieving wife and daughter with such haste.

Author: ESSENCE Editors

Read the original article on Essence.