James Brown's Estate Settled

05/27/09 1:02pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

James Brown's estate has finally been divided among the Godfather Of Soul's charitable trust, his widow, his young son and his six grown children — more than two years after his death.

People can stop arguing over Brown's corpse now. South Carolina judge Jack Early approved a settlement on Tuesday that will see Brown's charitable trust get nearly half his wealth. A quarter of it will go to his last wife, Tomi Rae Hynie Brown and their son, James Brown II. Brown's adult children will get the rest, according to the New York Daily News newspaper.

"I am so relieved and happy that the court has approved this settlement," Brown's widow said in a statement to The Associated Press. "I want to be able to work with the trustees and other Brown family members to promote James Brown's legacy.

"My son James and I are grateful to the judge and hope this nightmare is finally over."

The exact value of Brown's assets hasn't been publicly revealed, though numerous court hearings since his death have mentioned unpaid debts, inadequate accounting and misappropriated money.

Attorneys have said that Brown's future income from movies, royalties and the sale of his likeness is what all the bickering was about.

Brown died of heart failure on Christmas Day 2006. Tomi Raye Hynie Brown challenged his will when it was discovered that she had been left out, and Brown's children claimed trustees were mismanaging Brown's estate.

Brown's lawyers argued Tomi Rae Hynie Brown wasn't the singer's widow since she was still married to someone else when she and the former hardest working man in show business got married in 2001.