Biggie's Mother's Trust Wins $12.5 Million Court Order

Caption: Faith Evans at the Million Woman March in Philadelphia, 1998. Credit: John Mathew Smith / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A Delaware judge ordered a music-rights company managed by Faith Evans to make a $12.5 million distribution to the trust of the Notorious B.I.G.’s late mother, Voletta Wallace. The October 27 decision rejected the position that the trust was entitled to only about $48,600, according to reporting based on the Chancery Court proceedings. The money concerns revenue rights in a company established to manage the rapper’s intellectual property.

Wallace and Evans helped establish Notorious B.I.G., LLC in 2007, years after Christopher Wallace was killed in 1997. The company manages commercial interests associated with his work. Following Voletta Wallace’s death in February 2025, her trust sought distributions connected to her ownership stake. The court dispute grew over when that trust acquired the right to receive proceeds.

A dispute over the date money became due

Wayne Barrow, trustee of the Voletta Wallace Revocable Trust, brought the challenge after questions arose over whether the trust had formally become a member of the LLC. Evans argued that the formal membership step occurred later and that prior company distributions were not due to the trust. Under that approach, she said the amount payable was approximately $48,612.

Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick reached a different conclusion, finding that the trust’s economic rights extended back to Wallace’s death rather than beginning with later administrative membership paperwork. Complex and Music Times reported a court-determined amount of $12,518,336, plus prejudgment interest. The ruling therefore concerns distributions already made during a defined period, not merely a forecast of future royalties.

The structure of the business is essential to understanding the order. Formal company membership can involve governance or voting rights, while an economic interest can entitle its owner to money even if membership paperwork is completed later. The court decided that the trust’s entitlement to distributions could not be limited to the later paperwork date. In the October 27 opinion, McCormick identified December 12, 2025, as the trust’s formal admission date but found that economic rights had accrued from Wallace’s death. The ruling also directs statutory prejudgment interest, compounded quarterly, on distributions made before payment to the trust.

A second family lawsuit remains separate

Christopher Wallace Jr., known as C.J., is the son of the rapper and Evans. He is involved in a separate legal dispute over changes to his grandmother’s trust arrangements and trustee Wayne Barrow’s role. Reporting describes contested allegations in that case, which the Delaware ruling did not resolve. The distribution order against the music-rights company requires $12,518,336 plus prejudgment interest; any dispute over administration of Voletta Wallace’s trust must proceed separately.

References: Court of Chancery letter opinion, C.A. No. 2025-0760-KSJM | Judge Orders Faith Evans to Pay $12.5 Million to the Trust of the Notorious B.I.G.’s Late Mother | Faith Evans Loses Court Bid to Limit $12.5 Million Payout to Voletta Wallace’s Trust