The money is owed to the trust of The Notorious B.I.G.’s late mother, Voletta Wallace. Its trustee’s lawyer estimates nearly $14 million with interest, for donation under her will to the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation.
Delaware’s Chancery Court has ordered singer Faith Evans to distribute $12.5 million plus interest immediately to Wayne Barrow, trustee for Voletta Wallace, The Notorious B.I.G.’s late mother. Barrow’s lawyer, Jay Freiberg, estimates the total at nearly $14 million.
Evans, the rapper’s widow, became sole manager of his intellectual-property portfolio after his mother’s death. Barrow, who managed the rapper, whose name was Christopher Wallace, became Voletta Wallace’s trustee when she died in February 2025. Billboard described the distribution order in its October 29 report.
Barrow sued Evans in July, saying the trust was entitled to 25% of estate earnings, including profits from a Primary Wave catalog deal. Evans said Barrow lacked the legal documentation needed to receive the money.
An August ruling found that the trust had completed the required paperwork in December 2025. In the latest ruling, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick held that the economic rights—the rights to receive money associated with Voletta Wallace’s company membership—had transferred to her estate upon her death on February 21, 2025. The trust, as the ultimate beneficiary, was therefore entitled to distributions accruing from that date.
The $12.5 million represents Wallace’s share of estate profits from February through December 2025. At the time of the report, the money remained set aside within the estate. The court ordered its immediate distribution, rather than confirming a completed payment. Under Wallace’s will, Barrow is then to donate the funds to the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation.
Freiberg welcomed the order, expressed hope that Evans would pay and described the trust as a co-equal member of Notorious Big LLC with Evans. Evans’s lawyer declined to comment on the ruling on October 29.
Billboard gives conflicting dates for the decision: it initially identifies Tuesday, October 27, but later describes it as Thursday’s follow-up ruling.
The rapper’s son, CJ Wallace, is separately suing Barrow in Pennsylvania to change his grandmother’s will. An earlier version of her estate plan named CJ and Barrow as co-trustees. It was changed a few weeks before her death to give Barrow sole control.
CJ alleges that Barrow manipulated Voletta Wallace into rewriting her will on her deathbed. Barrow denies the allegation and says Evans is engineering CJ’s lawsuit; Evans’s lawyers deny that counter-allegation. The Pennsylvania case remains ongoing.
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