Faith Evans Loses $12.5 Million Court Battle Over Notorious B.I.G.'s Estate

A Delaware judge has ruled that a trust established by Notorious B.I.G.'s late mother, Voletta Wallace, is entitled to more than $12.5 million from the company managed by the rapper's widow, Faith Evans, following a legal battle over profits from his music catalog and intellectual property.

In an October 27, 2026, decision, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick determined that the Voletta Wallace Revocable Trust is owed $12,518,336, plus interest, from Notorious B.I.G. LLC. Evans and the company had argued that the trust was entitled to just $48,612.

The dispute arose after Wallace died on February 21, 2025, leaving her ownership interest in the business to her estate and trust. Although the trust formally became a member of the company in December, McCormick ruled that its right to receive profits began immediately upon Wallace's death.

Court records identify three distributions of $4 million each in March, June and September 2025, followed by another payment of approximately $470,000 in December. The company argued that only distributions made after the trust's formal admission should count toward the amount owed.

The ruling delivers another victory for Wayne Barrow, the late rapper's longtime manager, who has been fighting Evans over control of Wallace's ownership stake. In August, McCormick recognized Barrow's authority to exercise the trust's rights in the company, a decision detailed in Law Commentary's earlier coverage of the Notorious B.I.G. estate dispute.

Barrow filed the Delaware lawsuit in July 2025 after Evans allegedly refused to recognize his authority over Wallace's interest. The business controls rights associated with the rapper's music, name and likeness, assets that have generated substantial licensing revenue decades after his death in 1997.

Wallace and Evans each held a 50% ownership stake in Notorious B.I.G. LLC, although Wallace's share entitled her to 25% of the company's distributions. Her death transferred those financial rights to her estate, which she had left to the trust.

A separate family dispute has also emerged over who controls that inheritance. Christopher Jordan Wallace, known as CJ, the son of Evans and the late rapper, has challenged Barrow's appointment as sole executor of his grandmother's estate and trustee of her assets in Pennsylvania.

Wallace amended her estate documents shortly before her death, placing Barrow in sole control of administering her assets. Evans and the LLC argued that CJ's challenge warranted depositing the disputed money with the Delaware court until the Pennsylvania proceedings were resolved.

McCormick found that Barrow's existing authority allowed him to act for the trust and that the Pennsylvania challenge would not affect its entitlement to the distributions. The judge directed that the accrued money be paid to the trust rather than held by the court.

The ruling also awards prejudgment interest, compensating the trust for the time the money was owed. Interest will run from the dates of the distributions at Delaware's statutory rate, compounded quarterly.

Barrow must submit a proposed final order within 20 days of October 27. The Pennsylvania proceedings challenging his authority over Wallace's estate remain separate from the Delaware decision.