A 19-year-long legal battle over James Brown's estate led to a myriad of accusations of financial mismanagement, paternity challenges and questions over the future of a planned charitable foundation. Brown died at age 73 on Christmas Day 2006 due to complications from congestive heart failure. The "Godfather of Soul" was married four times, though his exact number of children remains in dispute. Brown acknowledged sharing Teddy (who died in a 1973 car accident), Terry and Larry with first wife Velma Warren, daughter Venisha (who died in 2018) with singer Yvonne Fair, daughters Dr. Yamma and Dr. Deanna with second wife Deidre Jenkins, son Daryl Brown with Beatrice Ford Stokes and son James Joseph Brown II with fourth wife Tomi Rae Hynie. Brown was also allegedly the father of daughter Lisa Brown, though very few details about her life have been publicly disclosed. Several others have made paternity claims about Brown over the years. The State reported that, of August 2025, Brown's estate has yet to be formally closed due to a legal fight between current and former administrators - meaning the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's dream of establishing a charitable education fund has yet to come to fruition. 8 Songs Us Thinks Are Performed Too Often on 'American Idol' James' daughter Dr. Deanna Brown Thomas suggested the late singer would be disgusted by the 19-year court fight. "I just know that my father's turning over in his grave," Brown Thomas, 56, told The State in an interview published on Wednesday, September 3. "Where's the money?" Keep scrolling for a look back at the entire saga and the current status of the case. What Did James Brown Stipulate in His Will? James Brown and wife Tomi Rae Hynie in 2006 (Photo by Gianfranco Calcagno/FilmMagic) Gianfranco Calcagno/FilmMagic Trouble arose when the exact value of Brown's estate proved difficult to calculate, due to various legal challenges and his own waning popularity in the early 2000s. The State reported that Brown's family was given his insurance policies and the contents of his South Carolina mansion as part of a last will and testament drawn up by the singer in 2000, while the rights to his name and music would go to benefit underprivileged children seeking an education in South Carolina and Georgia. The charitable foundation was to be known as the "I Feel Good Trust." A separate trust - capped at $2 million - was set aside to pay for Brown's grandchildren's own education. The legendary singer stipulated that anyone who contested the contents of his will would not receive anything. However, a legal battle over Brown's estate began almost immediately after his death in December 2006. Numerous creditors went after Brown's estate, and his fourth wife Hynie, sought inclusion on behalf of herself and her son, James II. According to contemporary reports, Brown's last will and testament was prepared in 2000 and never revised, even after he wed Hynie and welcomed their son, James II, in 2001. There were questions over the legality of Brown and Hynie's marriage, as she was alleged to be wed to another man, Javed Ahmed, at the same time. A judge later ruled that Ahmed and Hynie's marriage was invalid, thus establishing Hynie as Brown's widow. Hynie was involved in a protracted legal battle for control of the estate, and after intervention from both the South Carolina Court of Appeals and South Carolina Supreme Court, a settlement was finally reached between her and the trustee of the estate in 2021, reported the Associated Press. Why Was Brown's Will Challenged? Yamma Brown, Adrienne Rodriguez, James Brown and Deanna Brown Thomas in February 1992. Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images Brown's estate remained tangled in legal battles in 2007 due to questions over the ability to reclaim copyright of his music. While Brown's will stipulated his image and music rights should benefit his "I Feel Good" education fund, U.S. copyright law stipulated that these rights could only be passed down to his spouse and children. Brown reportedly took out a loan of $26 million in 1999 and had $16 million still to pay back by the time of his death. Elsewhere, Brown's children battled for months with the three trustees their father put in charge of his estate - the musician's accountant David Cannon, his lawyer Albert "Buddy" Dallas and retired judge Al Bradley. Adele Pope and Bob Buchanan were appointed as special administrators of the estate in March 2007. Their investigation into Brown's finances led to Cannon being charged and pleading guilty to two counts of breach of trust in October 2011, reported Billboard. (Cannon was sentenced to home confinement, but later spent four months in prison when a court found him in contempt of an order to pay back money to the estate.) Bradley and Dallas resigned when Cannon's financial mismanagement was discovered, though they were personally never implicated in any misconduct. Against Brown's family's wishes, Pope and Buchanan organized a 2008 auction of