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Brown's Estate Case

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In 2008, the South Carolina attorney general entered a settlement with Brown's family. He redirected a quarter of Brown's assets to his children and grandchildren and a quarter to his ex-wife, who had been disinherited from his will. In 2013, the South Carolina Supreme Court threw out this settlement, citing the fact that the attorney general had distorted Brown's intent when he became involved in the administration of Brown's estate. It is certainly unheard of for an attorney general to redirect assets that a testator had left to someone else. Usually, the redirection of funds occurs when, for example, a minor child is disinherited from a will and the courts are attempt to avoid the need for the child to become dependent upon the state. Others who have come forward to claim their share of Brown's estate include individuals who claim to be his children, three of which have been proven to be so through DNA testing, …show more content…

This is due to the fact that "distribution may be withheld pending resolution of a lawsuit against the estate, or where there is a contest over beneficiaries' rights under the will." For Brown's estate, it does not appear that anyone will be receiving what was left to them any time soon, especially when considering the fact that the litigation over how his estate should be distributed continues to this day. Jerry Garcia, who was the guitarist in the band the Grateful Dead, died unexpectedly in 1995 from a heart attack while he was living in a residential drug treatment center. Similarly to the estates of J. Howard Marshall, Michael Jackson, and James Brown, a court battle began shortly after his death over his $9.9 million estate. Everyone from his ex-wife, to his wife at the time of his death, to his bandmates, and finally to his daughter began legal battles over what they claimed to belong to

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