Faith Evans must pay $12.5 million in ongoing dispute over Notorious B.I.G. estate

The ruling directs millions from Biggie’s estate to a trust created by his late mother, Voletta Wallace.

A Delaware judge ruled that Faith Evans must pay more than $12.5 million from the Notorious B.I.G.’s estate to a trust created by Voletta Wallace, following a prolonged dispute over control of the rapper’s intellectual property.

In a ruling issued Oct. 27, Delaware Court of Chancery Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick ordered that $12,518,336 from the rapper’s estate be paid to the trust. The decision is part of an ongoing legal dispute involving the management of Biggie’s intellectual property and the rights Voletta left behind when she died in February 2025.

According to court documents reviewed by People, the trust is entitled to distributions made as of Voletta’s death, along with prejudgment interest calculated from the dates those distributions were made. The interest is to accrue at the statutory rate and be compounded quarterly. Wayne Barrow, Biggie’s former manager and the estate’s sole trustee, initially filed the case against Evans in July 2025. Barrow’s attorney said in a statement that his client welcomed the latest order. He also said Evans was ordered to have Notorious B.I.G., LLC pay the trust more than $14 million by Nov. 10, a figure that includes the additional amounts referenced by the attorney.

Evans and Voletta established Notorious B.I.G., LLC in 2007 to manage the late rapper’s intellectual property. When Voletta died, she left her ownership interest in the company to a trust, while Evans remained the company’s sole manager. Voletta initially named her grandson, Christopher Jordan “C.J.” Wallace, as her successor trustee. However, she amended the arrangement weeks before her death, appointing Barrow as the sole trustee instead.

Barrow later alleged that Evans prevented him from exercising the trust’s rights to its membership interest in the company. In August 2026, a Delaware judge ruled in Barrow’s favor, granting his motion for summary judgment and dismissing Evans’ counterclaim. The latest payment order follows that judgment. The legal dispute has also extended beyond Evans and Barrow. C.J. Wallace has filed a separate lawsuit in Pennsylvania challenging the circumstances surrounding his grandmother’s decision to appoint Barrow as trustee.