The estate of The Notorious B.I.G. is back in court, this time over his mother's will. Christopher Wallace Jr, the rapper's son, has filed a petition challenging an amendment to Voletta Wallace's will that was signed 15 days before she died on 15 February 2025. XXL reported the filing on 20 August 2026, citing court documents obtained by TMZ.
The original 2020 will, as described in the reporting, split Voletta's furs, jewellery, her son's music awards, a Mercedes-Benz SUV and property in Jamaica between CJ and his sister T'yanna, with some items going to her brother. Her interest in the company that manages the estate was directed to her foundation.
That interest is the part with weight behind it. After her son was killed in 1997, Voletta Wallace acquired a 50 percent stake in the company overseeing his estate, and she ran the business alongside his widow, Faith Evans, until her own death. Whoever controls that half controls a share of one of the most valuable catalogues in rap.
CJ's filing says the late amendment removed both grandchildren as beneficiaries and named Wayne Barrow, his father's former manager, as executor. He argues the timing raises a question about whether the document reflects what his grandmother actually wanted.
The petition goes further than timing. It says her health had declined sharply by then, that she was on numerous medications and was often confined to bed. It also disputes the signatures on the document, describing them as facially inconsistent with her own and asking that an expert examine them. CJ wants the amendment invalidated and Barrow removed as executor immediately.
The filing lands after Barrow won a ruling of his own against Faith Evans, with a judge ordering that she give him access to Voletta's share of the profits from the Biggie trust. Our earlier report on that side of the dispute is at a Delaware court siding against Faith Evans, and CJ Wallace has been in court on his own account this year, winning a ruling in a defamation case. The rest of the desk's hip-hop coverage carries the wider estate story.
The facts
- Christopher Wallace Jr petitioned to invalidate an amendment to Voletta Wallace's will
- The amendment was signed 15 days before her death on 15 February 2025
- He says it removed him and his sister T'yanna as beneficiaries
- It named Wayne Barrow, Biggie's former manager, as executor
- The 2020 will split furs, jewellery, music awards, a Mercedes-Benz SUV and Jamaican property
- Voletta Wallace held a 50 percent interest in the company overseeing the estate
- CJ disputes the signatures and wants an expert to examine them
How this checks out
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