{"id":1236370642,"date":"2026-10-29T16:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T20:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/?post_type=billboard_pro_post&#038;p=1236370642"},"modified":"2026-10-29T16:43:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T20:43:12","slug":"notorious-big-estate-lawsuit-judge-faith-evans-send-14m","status":"publish","type":"billboard_pro_post","link":"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/notorious-big-estate-lawsuit-judge-faith-evans-send-14m\/","title":{"rendered":"Notorious B.I.G. Estate Lawsuit Ends With Faith Evans Sending $14M to Voletta Wallace\u2019s&nbsp;Trust"},"content":{"rendered":"<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! -->\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pmc-paywall\">\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p\n\t\tclass=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"\n>\n\tA judge has ruled that <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/faith-evans\/\"  >Faith Evans<\/a> must immediately distribute nearly $14 million in profits from <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/the-notorious-b-i-g\/\"  >The Notorious B.I.G.<\/a>\u2019s estate to the trust set up by his late mother, <strong>Voletta Wallace<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p\n\t\tclass=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"\n>\n\tThe Tuesday (Oct. 27) decision ends a court dispute between Evans and <strong>Wayne Barrow<\/strong>, who managed Biggie (Christopher Wallace) and was named Voletta\u2019s legal trustee upon her <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/rb-hip-hop\/biggies-mom-voletta-wallace-dead-1235907561\/\"  >death in February 2025<\/a>. Barrow is still involved in a separate lawsuit with Biggie\u2019s son, CJ Wallace, who\u2019s challenging the terms of his grandmother\u2019s will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"injected-related-story \/\/ lrv-u-display-inline-block lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-margin-t-2 u-margin-t-26@mobile-max u-margin-b-0.875@mobile-max u-margin-b-150@tablet u-border-t-12 lrv-u-padding-t-025 u-padding-b-1.313 lrv-u-padding-b-125@mobile-max lrv-u-border-color-black\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"\">\n\t\t\t\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  lrv-a-unstyle-link lrv-u-whitespace-nowrap u-font-weight-700 lrv-u-display-inline-block u-line-height-18px a-font-accent u-letter-spacing-0225 u-font-size-16 lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-article-badge-underline a-article-esp u-display-inline-flex lrv-u-margin-b-1@mobile-max u-margin-b-9@tablet\">\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t\n\t\n<\/h3>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"injected-related-story-wrapper lrv-u-flex lrv-u-justify-content-space-between lrv-u-padding-tb-050@desktop a-children-border-vertical a-children-border--grey a-children-border-width-050\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"o-card \">\n\n\t\t\t<a  tabindex=\"0\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/notorious-big-lawsuit-biggie-manager-wins-faith-evans\/\"  class=\"lrv-u-color-black:hover lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop\"  >\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-margin-b-075 lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max u-width-130px@mobile-max\">\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"a-crop-6x4 a-crop-3x2@mobile-max\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/834239250-e1786397158719.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C1800px%2C1116px&#038;resize=237%2C147\" alt=\"NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 17:  Voletta Wallace and Faith Evans attend the screening of A&amp;E &quot;Biography Presents: Biggie: The Life Of Notorious B.I.G&quot; at DGA Theater on August 17, 2017 in New York City.  (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok\/Getty Images)\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto\" height=\"\" width=\"\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"o-card__content \">\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<span class=\"c-span  lrv-u-whitespace-nowrap\">\n\n\t\n<\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"o_category \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"c_title \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-font-basic-fancy u-font-size-15 u-font-size-15.5@mobile-max u-line-height-22px u-padding-r-0.188@desktop u-word-spacing-0013 u-line-height-22.5px@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-4line@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-3line\">\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tBiggie\u2019s Manager Wins Court Order Requiring Faith Evans to Share Primary Wave Catalog&nbsp;Money\t\t\n\t\n<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<time class=\"c-timestamp  \" datetime=\"00:00-YY-DD-MM\">\n\t\t\n<\/time>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"o-card \">\n\n\t\t\t<a  tabindex=\"0\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/business\/publishing\/kenny-macpherson-big-deal-music-publisher-dies-71-1236367718\/\"  class=\"lrv-u-color-black:hover lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop\"  >\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-margin-b-075 lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max u-width-130px@mobile-max\">\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"a-crop-6x4 a-crop-3x2@mobile-max\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kenny-MacPherson-billboard-1548.jpg?w=237&#038;h=147&#038;crop=1\" alt=\"Kenny MacPherson\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto\" height=\"\" width=\"\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"o-card__content \">\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<span class=\"c-span  lrv-u-whitespace-nowrap\">\n\n\t\n<\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"o_category \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"c_title \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-font-basic-fancy u-font-size-15 u-font-size-15.5@mobile-max u-line-height-22px u-padding-r-0.188@desktop u-word-spacing-0013 u-line-height-22.5px@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-4line@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-3line\">\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tKenny MacPherson, Veteran Music Publisher and Big Deal Music Co-Founder, Dies at 71\t\t\n\t\n<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<time class=\"c-timestamp  \" datetime=\"00:00-YY-DD-MM\">\n\t\t\n<\/time>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"o-card \">\n\n\t\t\t<a  tabindex=\"0\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/business\/legal\/diddy-moved-from-new-jersey-prison-to-pennsylvania-1236362285\/\"  class=\"lrv-u-color-black:hover lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop\"  >\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-margin-b-075 lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max u-width-130px@mobile-max\">\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"a-crop-6x4 a-crop-3x2@mobile-max\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1693926869-e1769621771453.jpg?w=237&#038;h=147&#038;crop=1\" alt=\"WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 21: Sean &quot;Diddy&quot; Combs speaks during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference National Town Hall on September 21, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess\/Getty Images for Congressional Black Caucus Foundation)\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto\" height=\"\" width=\"\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"o-card__content \">\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<span class=\"c-span  lrv-u-whitespace-nowrap\">\n\n\t\n<\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"o_category \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"c_title \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-font-basic-fancy u-font-size-15 u-font-size-15.5@mobile-max u-line-height-22px u-padding-r-0.188@desktop u-word-spacing-0013 u-line-height-22.5px@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-4line@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-3line\">\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tDiddy Moved From New Jersey Prison to Similar Facility in Pennsylvania\t\t\n\t\n<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<time class=\"c-timestamp  \" datetime=\"00:00-YY-DD-MM\">\n\t\t\n<\/time>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p\n\t\tclass=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"\n>\n\tBarrow <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/notorious-big-lawsuit-faith-evans-sued-catalog-sale-profits\/\"  >initiated litigation last July<\/a> against Evans, Biggie\u2019s widow and the sole manager of his valuable intellectual property portfolio after Voletta\u2019s death. Barrow said the trust was entitled to a 25% share of estate earnings, including profits from a landmark Primary Wave <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/primary-wave-notorious-big-catalog-rights-biggie-smalls\/\"  >catalog deal<\/a>. The R&amp;B singer countered that Barrow did not have the right legal documentation that entitled him to this money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p\n\t\tclass=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"\n>\n\tA judge in Delaware\u2019s Chancery Court <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/notorious-big-lawsuit-biggie-manager-wins-faith-evans\/\"  >sided with Barrow<\/a> in August, ruling that the trust ultimately did ink the correct paperwork to take over Voletta\u2019s share of estate earnings in December 2025. In Thursday\u2019s follow-up ruling, however, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick said Barrow\u2019s financial stake kicked in earlier than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p\n\t\tclass=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"\n>\n\t\u201cAll economic rights associated with Ms. Wallace\u2019s member interest in the LLC transferred to her estate upon her death on February 21, 2025,\u201d wrote the judge. \u201cThe Trust, as the ultimate beneficiary, is entitled to distributions accrued as of the date of Ms. Wallace\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p\n\t\tclass=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"\n>\n\tVoletta\u2019s share of estate profits running from February to December 2025 totals $12.5 million. Up until now, that money has been set aside and is sitting within the estate. Chancellor McCormick ordered Evans to immediately distribute the full amount, plus interest, to Barrow, who will then donate it to the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation, per the terms of Voletta\u2019s will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p\n\t\tclass=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"\n>\n\tBarrow\u2019s attorney <strong>Jay Freiberg<\/strong> told <em>Billboard <\/em>that the distributions with interest will total nearly $14 million. \u201cWe are pleased with the latest order from the Chancellor,\u201d said Freiberg. \u201cIt continues the Chancellor\u2019s decisions recognizing Faith Evans\u2019 misbehavior regarding Notorious Big LLC after the death of Mama Wallace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p\n\t\tclass=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"\n>\n\t\u201cHopefully she will [pay] and, equally important, stop fighting the inevitable result properly planned by Mama Wallace \u2014\u00a0that the trust is a co-equal member of the LLC with Ms. Evans, and entitled to all that comes with this status,\u201d added Freiberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p\n\t\tclass=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"\n>\n\tEvans\u2019 attorney declined to comment on the ruling Thursday (Oct. 29).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p\n\t\tclass=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"\n>\n\tSeparately, Biggie\u2019s son CJ is suing Barrow in Pennsylvania to change Voletta\u2019s will. A previous version of his grandmother\u2019s estate plan named CJ and Barrow co-trustees, but the will was changed a few weeks before her death to give Barrow sole control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p\n\t\tclass=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \"\n>\n\tCJ is now alleging that Barrow manipulated Voletta into rewriting the will on her deathbed. Barrow denies this and says CJ\u2019s lawsuit is being engineered by Evans, which Evans\u2019 lawyers deny. The case remains ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The trustee for Biggie&#8217;s late mother is still fighting another lawsuit with the rapper&#8217;s son, CJ Wallace. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3473,"featured_media":1236313199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exclude_post_from_river":false,"authors":[],"contributors":[],"styled_by":[],"_image_credit":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","pmc_selected_wwd_video_media":"","pmc_top_video_source":"","pmc_top_video_duration":"","wwd_top_video_source":"","wwd_top_video_duration":"","pmc_selected_featured_media":"","pmc_selected_video_media":"","pmc_selected_variety_video_media":"","variety_top_video_source":"","variety_top_video_duration":"","pmc_featured_media_has_alt_text":true,"_pmc_featured_animated_media_id":0,"_pmc_featured_video_override_data":"","_pmc_featured_video_override_url":"","_pmc_featured_video_response_data":"","pmc-gallery-linked-gallery":{},"pmc_list_item_description":"","primary_category":"","primary_vertical":"","_mt_pmc_exclude_from_seo":"","_pmc_opengraph_title":"","_pmc_opengraph_description":"","categories":8546642,"subcategories":8695073,"pmc-gallery":[],"thr_post_headlines":"","_variety-sub-heading":"","mt_seo_title":"Notorious B.I.G. Estate Lawsuit: Judge Tells Faith Evans to Send $14M ","mt_seo_description":"In the Notorious B.I.G. estate lawsuit, a judge has told Faith Evans to distribute nearly $14 million from the estate to his late mother's trust.","mt_pmc_exclude_from_seo":"off","_pmc_canonical_override":"","instant_articles_should_submit_post":false,"_pmc_newsletter_bna_selected_alerts":[],"_pmc_newsletter_bna_subject_override":"","_pmc_newsletter_bna_alert_configs":[],"_pmc_newsletter_bna_send_override":false,"_sailthru_selected_alerts":[],"_sailthru_send_override":false,"_sailthru_alert_subject":"","_sailthru_breaking_news_meta_data":[],"experimental_features_inline_styles":"","linked_video_id":"","pmc_hubs_hide_header":false,"_billboard_badge":"","override_apple_news_title":"","bb_linked_en_post_id":0,"override_post_title":"","override_post_excerpt":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-10-29T20:43:10Z","apple_news_api_id":"214cd5ee-7c03-4576-928b-a78d359b09f9","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-10-29T20:43:11Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AIUzV7nwDRXaSi6eNNZsJ-Q","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_pitched":false,"_pitched_by":"","_pitched_timestamp":"","_pitched_by_name":"","_pmc_automated_related_links":{"data":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/notorious-big-lawsuit-biggie-manager-wins-faith-evans\/","id":1236313189,"title":"Biggie\u2019s Manager Wins Court Order Requiring Faith Evans to Share Primary Wave Catalog&nbsp;Money","automated":false},{"url":"","id":"","title":"","automated":true},{"url":"","id":"","title":"","automated":true}],"settings":{"module_name":"Related","hide_box":0}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8546642,8695073],"tags":[8736244,8548516,8560386,8697283],"_post-options":[8692109],"artist":[276159,418733],"story-arc":[],"editorial":[],"coauthors":[8737161],"class_list":["post-1236370642","billboard_pro_post","type-billboard_pro_post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-legal","tag-genre-hiphop","tag-hip-hop-2","tag-lawsuit","tag-legal","artist-faith-evans","artist-the-notorious-b-i-g"],"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/notorious-big-estate-lawsuit-judge-faith-evans-send-14m\/","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Notorious B.I.G. Estate Lawsuit Ends With Faith Evans Sending $14M to Voletta Wallace\u2019s&nbsp;Trust","url":"http:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/notorious-big-estate-lawsuit-judge-faith-evans-send-14m\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/notorious-big-estate-lawsuit-judge-faith-evans-send-14m\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/834239250-e1786397158719.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/834239250-e1786397158719.jpg"},"articleSection":"Legal News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel Scharf"}],"creator":["Rachel Scharf"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Billboard","logo":""},"keywords":["genre hiphop","hip hop","lawsuit","legal"],"dateCreated":"2026-10-29T20:43:08Z","datePublished":"2026-10-29T20:43:08Z","dateModified":"2026-10-29T20:43:12Z","pmc-gallery-linked-gallery":{}},"rendered":"