November 25, 2008

AIKEN, S.C.---A new trustee could soon oversee the settlement in the James Brown estate case.

Today Judge Jack Early said he will grant a request for a new trustee, but that person will have limited powers. Judge Early scheduled a hearing for January to consider the settlement and hear opposition.

The settlement would give half the estate to Brown's charitable trust for education for Brown's grandchildren and needy students in Georgia and South Carolina. Tommie Rae, who claims to be Brown's last wife, would get 25 percent of the estate, and Brown's children would split the remaining 25 percent.