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Legal
Brown estate finally settled
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 27 May 2009
A settlement of the estate of the late great James Brown has finally been agreed, after two and a half years of squabbling between family members, alleged family members and the estate’s original and subsequent trustees.
A South Carolina judge yesterday approved a deal whereby half of the singer’s assets will go to a charitable trust, a quarter to his sort of widow and her son (‘sort of’ because the legality of Brown and Tomi Rae Hynie Brown’s marriage was disputed), and the rest to Brown’s six adult children. The trust will fund education for Brown’s grandchildren and “needy children” in South Carolina and Georgia.
Brown’s legal reps say there isn’t actually all that much cash in the late singer’s accounts as we speak, and indeed some of his possessions had to be sold off last year to pay off a number of debts. But the future income from his intellectual property is, of course, potentially very valuable, and it is that future income that is really at stake here. That income will also mean the Trust should be able to fund educational initiatives for many years to come.
Welcoming the settlement, one of Brown’s daughters, Deanne Brown, told the Associated Press: “It has been a struggle, but God has blessed us and we are thankful. We look forward to working towards the goals of our father by providing education scholarships for impoverished students and his own grandchildren and making his home a museum for the world to come and see”.
