It's often been said that James Brown was the hardest working man in showbusiness, but unfortunately it looks like he didn't work quite so hard when it came to keeping documents that regulated the ownership of his property after his death up to date.
Perhaps if James Brown had been a little better at keeping his will in order when he was alive instead of duetting with Will Young and beating up women, his five-year-old son would have somewhere to live. The squabble over all of James Brown's recently available stuff has taken another turn for the ridiculous as it's been revealed that James Brown last updated his will about a month before his last wife fell pregnant with his youngest son James Brown Jr. And since his last wife wasn't his wife when the will was signed either, she's been stiffed too. There's a lesson here kids; you must always keep your legal paperwork in order, even if you're a semi-legendary soul-funk pioneer, OK?
Poor old 22-days-dead and still unburied James Brown – as if dying, having your corpse-face snogged by Michael Jackson and then being left to hang around in an air-conditioned room for a number of weeks wasn't enough to deal with, now all the clawing and squabbling over James Brown's will is starting to make him look bad. And that's no mean feat if – like James Brown – you had constant issues with drugs and wife abuse and claims of rape when you were alive.
It's now been revealed that James Brown's will was so out of date that his youngest son James Brown Jr doesn't figure anywhere on it at all. What's more, the boy's mother Tomi Rae Hynie is equally missing from James Brown's will because she wasn't married to him when she gave birth to James Brown Jr, and also she might have been married to someone else when she got married to James Brown as The Guardian reports:
The exclusion has added to a dispute about the soul singer's legacy. Brown's attorneys contend that Hynie is not Brown's widow because she was still married to another man when they said their vows. They have said Hynie later annulled her previous marriage, but she and Brown never remarried. Hynie says she was legally married to Brown. The will calls for Brown's personal effects to be divided equally among the singer's six adult children. North Augusta, S.C., lawyer James Huff said that if a will specifically names some children but excludes others, the excluded children have no claim to the parent's assets, regardless of when they were born.
On the plus side for James Brown Jr, now that he probably won't get a cut of his Dad's fortune, at least being raised in comparative poverty means that he might take on some of James Brown's better attributes. After all, James Brown was raised in a cathouse and went on to become one of the most influential performers of all time. If James Brown had been raised feuding about who got his dead dad's house, money and collection of shiny wigs, chances are he wouldn't have.
Actually, thinking about the way that James Brown's six remaining children from various relationships – and all the subsequent grandchildren – are quarrelling over a dead man's possessions before his body is even buried, we've thought of another lesson for you: why not try keeping it in your pants for once.
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ThreeMyWay says
That’s sad for the kid. Well, sad and pathetic. OK, so mostly pathetic.
kat says
It really is not the kids fault but if it is really Browns child they should give him a portion of the money he must have left so much money that I am sure their is enough to go around for the family. I serious think the lawyer did some changing in the documents I have seen that happen. It is amazing how Brown passed away what days ago and he can’t be buried yet that is pretty sad!!!!!!!
Marvell JR. says
James Brown was a good man i looked up to him a lot but when he died it was very sad because i wanted to meat James Brown one day.
RIP JAMES BROWN I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU!!!!!!!