More than a year after Dolly Parton's husband Carl Dean died in March 2025, a court has appointed his niece, Dea Chaggin Cunningham Williams, as administrator of his estate, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.

Parton had originally been set to handle the role herself, but the process was never finalized before she died of cancer in August at age 80. Dean's will left everything to Parton; had she not survived him, the estate would have been split among his five nieces and nephews and Parton's 14.