Agreement Reached on Burial of James Brown

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, Dies at 73 in Atlanta
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Agreement Finally Reached on Burial of James Brown

By KATRINA A. GOGGINS
Associated Press Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) The six adult children of singer James Brown have agreed with his partner, Tomi Rae Hynie, on where the entertainer will be buried, an attorney for the woman said Tuesday.

Hynie's attorney, Robert Rosen, said the resting place is being kept confidential at the request of Brown's children. Rosen said the burial may take place in the "next few days."

Brown died Christmas Day at age 73. His body is being kept in a confidential location, said Charles Reid, manager of the C.A. Reid Funeral Home in Augusta, Ga., which handled Brown's funeral.

He said he checked on Brown on Tuesday, opening the gold casket to view the body.

"I do that constantly," Reid said. "That's the only way I can actually check him ... go in, open the casket and close it. And he's fine."

Meanwhile, a South Carolina judge in a ruling made public Tuesday said the trustees accused of mismanaging Brown's estate will keep handling his property and trust, but a special administrator will oversee their work.

The singer's six adult children were in an Aiken County court Feb. 9 in an attempt to remove three trustees who are handling the late singer's estate. They claim it has been mismanaged.

The children and Hynie had both asked the court to appoint a special administrator to oversee the trust.

Such an administrator "will protect the estate by permitting all claims to be pursued and investigated with the required due diligence, and will assist this Court in assessing the proper administration of the estate," Judge Doyet Early said in his ruling, dated Monday.

Rosen said he and his client were pleased with the appointment of a special administrator.

Brown's attorney, trustee Buddy Dallas, said he was pleased and vindicated by the decision.

"We told the court that we had no objection whatsoever to a special administrator and the court has now ruled that there were no improprieties on the part of the personal representatives," Dallas said.

Brown's children claimed in court papers last month that trustees had "mismanaged and otherwise dissipated assets and income of the trust to the detriment of James Brown" and that some of Brown's assets were in danger of being "lost or dissipated or stolen."

The trust is said to contain most of Brown's primary assets, including the late singer's music rights and his 60-acre Beech Island home, and is separate from Brown's will filed last week. The will called for personal possessions such as clothes, jewelry, boats and automobiles to be divided among the children.

Dallas said the children's petition "delayed the wishes and legacy of Mr. Brown." But it won't likely be the last hearing over the singer's estate.

"As long as there's a lawyer who can earn a fee, this will go on," Dallas said.

Attorneys for Brown's children did not immediately returns calls for comment Tuesday.