Singer Faith Evans ordered to pay $12.5m illion to Notorious B.I.G.’s late mother

American singer and songwriter Faith Evans has lost a multimillion-dollar legal battle with The Notorious B.I.G.'s late mother's estate over distribution of funds tied to the late rap star's trust.

According to AllHipHop, a Delaware judge awarded a $12.5 million judgment to Voletta Wallace Revocable Trust, Biggie's mother, Voletta Wallace's estate, including interest, for payouts made to Notorious B.I.G., LLC, the trust overseeing Biggie's intellectual property.

The ruling, handed down Tuesday (Oct. 27) by Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery, rejected Evans' legal team's request to limit the judgment to $48,612, rather than the full $12,518,336 payout awarded to Wallace's trust, headed by Wayne Barrow, the Notorious B.I.G.'s former manager.

Christopher Jordan Wallace, better known as CJ, has challenged Barrow's control of Wallace's estate, which Wallace granted Barrow executorship of before her death in February 2025. CJ, The Notorious B.I.G. and Evans' son, accuses Barrow of manipulating Wallace, his grandmother, into granting him executorship of the Voletta Wallace Revocable Trust.

CJ and Evans proposed having the state take control of the disputed funds amid questions surrounding the estate's administration. McCormick rejected that approach, finding that the pending Pennsylvania proceedings would not undo actions Barrow had taken in good faith or change the trust's entitlement to distributions.

In her ruling, she explained: "The economic rights associated with Ms. Wallace's units now belong to the Trust. Plaintiff Wayne Barrow, who appears in this action on behalf of the Trust, also holds Letters Testamentary issued on April 21, 2025, making him the sole executor of the Estate. Pennsylvania law provides that '[n]o act of administration performed by a personal representative in good faith shall be impeached by the subsequent revocation of his letters or by the subsequent probate of a will, of a later will or of a codicil.'"

She continued, adding, "The outcome of the Pennsylvania action, therefore, will not affect the actions taken by Mr. Barrow related to the Trust, Ms. Wallace's estate, and the Trust's entitlement to distributions as of Ms. Wallace's date of death. I therefore find no need for the accrued distributions to be deposited with the Register in Chancery. They are due to the Trust."

The judge also ruled that the trust became a member of Notorious B.I.G., LLC, on December 12, 2025, when Barrow executed a written consent establishing its membership rights. The decision entitled the trust to distributions dating back to Wallace's death, rather than limiting its recovery to the smaller amount Evans and the company argued was payable.

McCormick further ordered prejudgment interest on those distributions, calculated from the dates the payments were made and compounded quarterly at the statutory rate. Barrow, who represented the trust in the Delaware proceedings, received Letters Testamentary after being appointed executor in April 2025.

"In sum, the Trust became a member as of December 12, 2025, the date of the Written Consent. The Trust is entitled to distributions made as of the date of Ms. Wallace's death. The Trust is entitled to prejudgment interest on those distributions, accruing as of the date on which the distribution was made. Prejudgment interest will be at the statutory rate, compounded quarterly."

The legal battle between Barrow and Evans stems from the R&B star's refusal to distribute proceeds earned from Notorious B.I.G. LLC, including its partnership with Primary Wave, announced in March 2025, which includes Biggie's name, image, and likeness.

McCormick gave Barrow 20 days to submit a final form of order reflecting the judgment and the court's previous rulings. Although the Delaware decision establishes the trust's rights to the distributions, the separate Pennsylvania challenge to Barrow's appointment remains a separate, pending legal matter.

Separately, Biggie’s son CJ is suing Barrow in Pennsylvania to change Voletta’s will. A previous version of his grandmother’s estate plan named CJ and Barrow co-trustees, but the will was changed a few weeks before her death to give Barrow sole control.

CJ is now alleging that Barrow manipulated Voletta into rewriting the will on her deathbed. Barrow denies this and says CJ’s lawsuit is being engineered by Evans, which Evans’ lawyers deny. The case remains ongoing.

Faith Evans and Christopher Wallace, popularly known as The Notorious B.I.G., tied the knot on August 4, 1994, just eight days after meeting at a Bad Boy Records photoshoot.

Tragically, Biggie was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, California, on March 9, 1997, at the age of 24.

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