Settlement over soul king’s estate
Everybody wanted a piece of the Godfather of Soul, but finally the squabbling is settled.
The 15-year legal battle over James Brown’s estate was over July 9, said David Black, an attorney representing the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s estate.
Clashes over Brown’s estate had been ongoing since his death at 73 on Christmas Day 2006. The “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” singer left behind a mound of money estimated between $5 million to more than $100 million by various courts.
More than a dozen lawsuits have been filed in the years since by people trying to claim the cash.
Immediately after he died, Tomi Rae Hynie — a former partner who claimed to be Brown’s wife — was locked out of his 60-acre estate while photographers snapped photos of her sobbing and shaking the iron gates, begging to be let in.
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled the couple was not legally married.
The battle over Brown’s estate also included what to do with his body. Family grappled over the remains for more than two months, leaving his body inside a gold casket, sitting in cold storage in a funeral home. He was eventually buried in Beech Island, S.C., at the home of one of his daughters. His family hoped to turn the property into a shrine for Brown like Elvis Presley’s Graceland, but it never came to fruition.
Brown, well-known for his commanding and flashy stage presence, became renowned in his lifetime for his iconic musical work, including hits like “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”
In addition to his relationship with Hynie, Brown was married three times and had at least nine children.