Brown's Widow Barred from Home

Just hours after losing her legendary husband, the widow of James Brown said that the Godfather of Soul's lawyer and accountant stopped her from entering the Atlanta home she shared with him.

Tomi Rae Brown, who was a backup singer for Brown, told the Associated Press that she was away at a retreat when James died in an Atlanta hospital early Christmas morning. But when she returned to their home, said Brown, her late husband's lawyer and accountant wouldn't let her in. She said she didn't own the deed to the home but claimed a legal right to live there. "I don't have any money," said Brown. "I don't have anywhere to go." It was unclear whether Mrs. Brown was actually living at the home at the time of James' death.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that James Brown had been in ill health in the weeks preceding his death, and that a dentist had told him earlier last week that he needed medical attention. The cause of death, according to a Brown rep, was congestive heart failure.

Re: Brown's Widow Barred from Home

This is going to be one messy legal fight.