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James Brown estate settles 15-year battle

Meg KinnardAAP
James Brown's family has settled a 15-year legal battle over his estate for an undisclosed sum.
Camera IconJames Brown's family has settled a 15-year legal battle over his estate for an undisclosed sum. Credit: AP

The family of entertainer James Brown has reached a settlement ending a 15-year battle over the late singer's estate, according to a lawyer involved in the mediation.

David Black, a lawyer representing Brown's estate, confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday that the agreement was reached July 9.

Details of the settlement were not disclosed.

Legal wrangling over the Godfather of Soul's estate has been ongoing since his death at 73 on Christmas Day 2006.

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The performer's death touched off years of bizarre headlines, beginning with Tomi Rae Hynie - a former partner who claimed to be Brown's wife - being locked out of his 24-hectare estate, while photographers captured her sobbing and shaking its iron gates, begging to be let in.

More than a dozen lawsuits have been filed over the years by people trying to lay claim to what's left, which courts have estimated to be worth anything from $US5 million-$100 million ($A6.8 million-$A136 million).

Brown was renowned for hundreds of iconic musical works including hits like I Feel Good and It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World, and was known around the world for his flashy performances and dynamic stage presence.

But years of drug problems and financial mismanagement caused his estate to dwindle.

Last year, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Hynie had not been legally married to Brown and therefore did not have a right to his multimillion-dollar estate.

Justices also ordered a circuit court to "promptly proceed with the probate of Brown's estate in accordance with his estate plan," which outlined creation of a trust that would use his music royalties to fund educational expenses for children in South Carolina and Georgia.

A 2009 settlement plan would have given nearly half of Brown's estate to a charitable trust, a quarter to Hynie, and the rest to be split among his adult children.

The state Supreme Court overturned that deal in 2013, writing that then-Attorney-General Henry McMaster - now the state's governor - hadn't followed Brown's expressed wishes for most of his money to go to charity, having instead selected a professional manager who took control of Brown's assets from the estate's trustees to settle debts.

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