SC Supreme Court Overturns James Brown Estate Ruling

The multimillion-dollar estate of South Carolina native James Brown was divided incorrectly by state officials, according to a Wednesday SC Supreme Court ruling.

The Godfather of Soul was of sound mind when he made his will prior to his Christmas Day 2006 death. He was 73.

Former SC Attorney General Henry McMaster divided Brown's estate with "nearly half to a charitable trust, a quarter to his widow Tomi Rae Hynie and the rest to be split among his adult children," according to an AP article.

Brown wanted his estate to be given to charity. And the state Supreme Court said McMaster erred when he didn't follow those instructions. 

The opinion, in part, reads:

The settlement provisions allowing the AG to select the trustee, and his continued influence over the trust overreaches his statutory authority, as there is no provision allowing an AG to become involved in the day-to-day  operations of a trust

In a concurring opinion by Chief Justice Jean Toal, she took McMaster to task for his involvement:

The AG has taken unprecedented action in this case.  After effecting a total takeover of James Brown's estate by excluding its trustees and banding together with parties who stand only to gain from the invalidation of the testator's devise, the AG disposed of the court-appointed trustees, created a new settlement entity, and inserted himself into the day-to-day operations of a newly created charitable trust, the Legacy Trust. 

The Supreme Court ruling is attached to this story.