Brown's Dynamite Funeral Bill

Papa's got a brand new tab.

A dispute has erupted between the trustees responsible for handling James Brown's estate and his six adult children over who's going to pay the $70,000-plus bill covering the care of the soul singer's body and burial.

Charles Reid, director of the C.A. Funeral Home in Augusta, Georgia, complained to the Augusta Chronicle that he has yet to receive payment for fees from the family's private memorial service on Mar. 10. The singer's remains were interred on his daughter's property while construction on a crypt and mausoleum at his mansion in Beech Island, South Carolina, was delayed due to legal wrangling.

"I'm just waiting on them to get some of this mess straightened out," Reid told the paper. "I really haven't pushed the issue, even though I'd like to have my money."

Brown died on Christmas Day from congestive heart failure at the age of 73. Since then, his heirs have been squabbling with the trustees over the handling of Brown's estate, a posthumous showdown that's become more contentious by the day.

Buddy Dallas, Brown's longtime attorney and one of three men appointed to oversee his assets, told E! Online the entertainer's offspring were responsible for running up the funeral tab.

"I think the only issue is that these costs were never discussed with personal representatives of the estate," Dallas said, referring to himself and fellow trustees David Cannon and Alford Bradley. "There aren't too many people, including the Godfather of Soul, who've got $150,0000 in a checking account to pay that kind of tab. But the funeral bill will be paid and has been paid."

Louis Levenson, a lawyer for the children, was in court and unavailable for comment. But has previously said that it was the trustees' job to cover any outstanding expenses, which he described as a "reasonable amount."

The adult children—Deanna J. Brown Thomas, Yamma N. Brown Lumar, Vanisha Brown, Daryl J. Brown, Larry Brown and Terry Brown—have taken their beef with Dallas and cohorts before a judge in Columbia, South Carolina.

In late January, the Browns requested an emergency petition seeking to remove the three trustees for allegedly mismanaging their father's estate. While the judge refused to remove the trustees, he did appoint two overseers to make sure things were handled properly.

In a follow-up hearing Tuesday, the family, believing the trustees illegally sold some of their father's belongings, asked the judge to order an audit of financial receipts related to Brown's trust and estate both before and after his death.

For his part, Dallas categorically rejected the allegations, characterizing the latest tussle as "unfortunate" and part of an ongoing "personality clash" among the children and the men Brown assigned to carry out his wishes

"The personal representatives certainly would not violate a court order," he said. "The will and the trust, of course, require liquidation of some of Mr. Brown's assets. Certainly that will be done in an orderly and proper way. And obviously that would take a considerable period of time to accomplish."

Dallas said that Brown's stated in his will was that some of his personal items would be left to his children, his grandchildren would have their education paid for, and the balance of his fortune would go to educating needy and underprivileged children in Georgia and South Carolina, a philanthropic cause the performer cared about deeply.

The attorney said the six adult children have objected to the trustees paying for Brown's grandchildren's school tuition.

"Rather than getting a thank you note, I got a contempt citation. I wonder if I had not paid it, what I would've gotten," he continued. "It's regrettable that his children don't like the way Mr. Brown left the estate...I wish I could make everyone happy but that's not the responsibility a trustee has. I have a will and a trust to go by."

In related news, Brown's partner, Tomi Rae Hynie, who claims to be the music legend's fourth wife, is asking the judge to appoint Charleston attorney Stephen M. Slotchiver to be a special guardian for her son, James Brown Jr., during DNA testing ordered by the court to determine whether he's really the Godfather's biological child.

Dallas said the trustees supported such testing and invited anybody who thinks they have a similar paternity claim to step right up and be tested so they can get that business out of the way. He noted that DNA testing had already proven one unidentified claimant false already.

The judge is scheduled to take up Hynie's request and the family's two motions at a hearing later this month.