 FROM THE URBAN BUZZGood God. The South Carolina Supreme Court overturned a settlement divvying up the multi-million dollar estate of James Brown, saying a former attorney general didn’t follow the late soul singer’s wishes in putting together the deal. Attorney General Henry McMaster brokered a settlement in 2009 that split Brown’s estate, giving nearly half to a charitable trust, a quarter to his widow Tomi Rae Hynie and leaving the rest to be split among his adult children. But the justices ruled the deal ignored Brown’s wishes for most of his money to go to charity. The court ruled the Godfather of Soul was of sound mind when he made his will before dying of heart failure on Christmas Day 2006 at age 73. The court sent the estate back to a lower court to be reconsidered. The justices did agree with the lower court’s decision to remove Brown’s original trustees. Members of Brown’s family said they wanted them gone because the trustees mismanaged the estate until it was almost broke. The court said it had no idea what the estate was worth, giving an estimate of $5 million to over $100 million. The fight over Brown’s estate even spilled over into what to do with his body. Family members fought over the remains for more than two months, leaving Brown, still inside his gold casket, sitting in cold storage in a funeral home. Brown was eventually buried in Beech Island, S.C., at the home of one of his daughters. The family wanted to turn the home into a shrine for Brown similar to Elvis Presley’s Graceland, but that idea has not gotten off the ground. Sold him out for chicken-change. |
