http://www.forbes.com/fee...02172.html

AIKEN, S.C. -

Nearly two years after James Brown's death, claims of unpaid debts, inadequate accounting and misappropriated funds continue to throw into turmoil the late soul singer's estate - the value of which is still unknown.

Attorneys involved in the lengthy legal battle had hoped to announce a long-awaited settlement Thursday over how to parcel out Brown's estate between his last wife and child, his other children, and his charitable trust. Instead, several debtors testified in court they are owed money from the estate.

What remains to be seen is how quickly Brown's estate can emerge from debt: Right now, lawyers say the late soul singer's accounts have little money in them. The future income - from movies, royalties and the sale of Brown's likeness - is what's really at stake, attorneys say.

"In an estate of this complexity, the value isn't what's in a bank account," said Louis Levenson, an attorney for some of Brown's adult children. "The value in an estate like this is the kinds of business opportunities it can generate in the future."

The estate will receive little income until a settlement is filed, said Robert Rosen, an attorney for the woman claiming to be Brown's surviving spouse.

"The longer this litigation goes on the more it hurts the James Brown estate - it hurts the value of the estate," he said. "For people who want to use his likeness and make movies now, it's hard to know who to deal with."

The proposed settlement would give 50 percent of the singer's estate to his charitable trust; 25 percent to a woman who claims to be Brown's surviving spouse and her son; and 25 percent to some of Brown's adult children, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press.

It includes a stipulation that Tomi Rae Hynie, who also goes by Tomi Rae Brown, was the late soul singer's fourth wife. It also states that all children and grandchildren mentioned in the singer's will are lawful heirs and don't have to prove it through DNA testing.

The proposed settlement also stipulates that Hynie's son, 6-year-old James Brown II, is a legal heir and biological child of the entertainer.

However, one of Brown's adult children named in his will, Terry Brown, won't agree to the settlement because he questions whether Hynie's marriage to his father was legal. He also doesn't think her son was fathered by James Brown, said Terry Brown's attorney, David Bell.

South Carolina Assistant Attorney General Sonny Jones said the settlement can be presented to the judge without Terry Brown's consent. But attorneys need to obtain tax returns held by trustees before filing the proposal.

Trustees argued Thursday that turning over those documents would violate a federal confidentiality order associated with federal litigation against them or could reveal valuable trade secrets if it fell "into the wrong hands."

The judge was expected to issue an order Friday on the tax returns, which Levenson said could give some clues to the value of Brown's estate.

There has been some income from a July auction, which brought in more than $850,000 from the sale of some of Brown's possessions. The auction was held in part to pay taxes his estate owes. It's unclear how much has been used to pay debts or how much total debt is still owed.

Trustee Adele Pope refused to comment. Another trustee, Robert Buchanan, would not give the value of estate but pointed to several claims made by debt collectors.

A former limo driver said he was owed around $9,000, while Strom Thurmond Jr. and his associates claimed they haven't been paid for more than $33,000 worth of legal work.

Judge Jack Early ruled that both would get paid.

"We can't issue you a check right now," Early said, "but you'll be in line with everybody else."

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Just settle the damn thing already!

I think it would be pretty petty to leave out his 4th wife on some sort of technicality. They are part of James' family whether the relatives like it or not.

Cinnie said:

Exactly. Plus the youngest kid was PROVEN to be his kid. And he's got more kids, might as well give up the fight and settle. One of the kids is gonna be the reasons why his family will stay broke if he don't stop.