James Brown's Estate

When The Hardest Working Man In Show Business -- that's James Brown to you -- left this world on Christmas Day 2006, he naturally left behind quite a bit of money and valuables... although he'd made some bad business and personal decisions in the Sixties and Seventies, he'd managed to keep most of what he made since his mid-Eighties comeback (mostly from touring and the occasional minor R&B hit), and was rumored to be worth in excess of $100 million. However, his personal life was another matter entirely, and the fight for his estate began almost immediately, to the extent that James lay unburied for several weeks thereafter. He's been properly interred since, but his family, friends, co-workers, and other associates are still in court, arguing over just what they all meant to him -- and how they should be properly compensated.

Latest Developments

July 17, 2008: The Godfather of Soul's estate auctioned off a large portion of his personal effects and memorabilia at Christie's in New York, with the blessing of a South Carolina judge who agreed funds were necessary to pay off bills and back taxes accrued by the soul legend, and against the strenuous objections of daughter Yamma and former trustees. The biggest haul was $47,500 for his famous black satin cape, and Dave Letterman bandleader Paul Shaffer laid out a hefty $32,500 for the singer's medical bracelet, but overall, the auction netted $150,000 or so less than the million it was expected to haul in.
May 5, 2008: James Brown has a six-year-old son, or so claims the legal team for former backup singer Tomi Rae Hynie, who has claimed to be Brown's fourth wife and therefore entitled to a portion of the late singer's embattled estate. Attorney Peter Shahid claims that he is in possession of DNA test results that prove Brown fsthered James Brown II with Hynie, and will present the evidence in court later this year. The estate has not responded to the claims made by Hynie, left out of Brown's will when the soul legend died on Christmas Day 2006.
December 30, 2007: James' five living known children have formally challenged the will he left behind, claiming that earlier wills contain no indication James wanted to leave the bulk of his estate to "charity" (the alleged purpose of the trust) and that his handlers used "undue influence" to get him to change it. "There was sporadic indication that Mr. Brown intended to benefit some charities, but the circumstances surrounding the making of these documents have always been clouded in mystery," said family attorney Louis Levenson. This is not sitting well with some of James' grandchildren -- the trust provides for the higher education of all those under the age of 35.

Background

James Brown apparently married several women while he was alive, without bothering to tell the others -- a move which makes all but his first marriage illegal and not recognized by any court. Tomi Rae Hynie Brown found this out the hard way when she tried to gain access to the entertainer's home in Beach Island, SC, and was refused by family members who told the press Tomi was actually the fourth woman James had "married." (This is not counting James' first three legal wives, two of whom he divorced publicly and one who died in 1996.) Further complicating matters was the fact that Tomi was also still married to a Pakistani immigrant, a marriage later annulled after she accused him of marrying her merely to gain U.S. citizenship (and, further, that the marriage was never consummated).

Eventually, the will was read, specifically omitting Tomi and her 5-year-old son, James, who she claims as the elder James' offspring. The will splits the singers' "personal effects" among six children from different marriages (Terry Brown, Larry Brown, Daryl Brown, Dr. Yamma Noyola Brown Lumar, Deanna Brown Thomas and Venisha Brown), and offers nothing to any of his wives; worse, the bulk of the actual money is to be placed in a "trust" overseen by three of Brown's confidantes, attorney Albert Dallas, David Cannon and Alford Bradley. The children immediately file suit challenging the trust's right to the money. Tomi also files suit, claiming the trustees are unworthy to manage the trust, alleging mismanagement of James' funds while he was still alive. The three trustees, in turn, file petitions claiming Tomi and the children have removed valuables from the estate, which would render its worth impossible to calculate.

That fall, three more adults submit DNA testing that proves that they also are biological children of the singer and therefore entitled to be considered in the division of his estate. Following investigations into their handling of Brown's money, two of the three trustees resign, and later claim they were threatened by the acting Judge, Aiken County Second Circuit Judge Jack Early. Early responds by charging one of the trustees with contempt. Meanwhile, proceedings begin to determine whether Tomi was James' "common-law" wife.