Layne Staley's mother was paid his Alice in Chains share for ten years, then sued his bandmates when they ended it

Layne Staley died of heroin use in his Seattle home at 34. His body was not found until 20 April 2002, about two weeks later. His mother, Nancy McCallum, became the person who collected his share of Alice in Chains income. For about ten years after his death she was paid under a revenue-sharing arrangement with the surviving members, Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney. In September 2012 a band attorney told her that Staley's interest in the band's works was being liquidated and the arrangement would end. In a December 2012 letter the band's lawyer, Peter Paterno, alleged that McCallum had tried to trademark the name Alice in Chains, and called it "disturbing." On 2 May 2013 McCallum sued Cantrell and Kinney in King County Superior Court. She asked for a court order giving her 16 percent of the band's revenue, which she said was half the share due her son, and any of his assets the band controlled. She alleged Cantrell had tried several times to change the income split during Staley's life. The band said his heirs would still collect royalties on songs he wrote, that she had already been paid more than she was owed, and that she had no role in band decisions. No ruling or settlement was reported. As of 2026 no outcome of the 2013 case has been made public.