CJ Wallace is challenging changes his grandmother Voletta Wallace allegedly made to her estate plan just 15 days before her death, adding another layer to the legal fight surrounding The Notorious B.I.G.’s legacy. According to TMZ, Wallace is asking a court to invalidate the disputed changes and remove longtime Biggie associate Wayne Barrow as executor of Voletta’s estate.
The dispute over Voletta Wallace centers on an estate plan she reportedly established in 2020. According to Wallace’s court filing as described by TMZ, the earlier plan distributed personal property including jewelry, furs, awards connected to Biggie, a Mercedes-Benz SUV, and property in Jamaica. Wallace claims he and his sister, T’yanna Wallace, were set to receive much of the personal property, while some items were designated for Voletta’s brother.
Wallace alleges that Voletta signed new documents shortly before her death that removed her grandchildren from key roles and placed Barrow in control as executor. According to TMZ, Wallace also claims his grandmother’s health had declined during her final days and questions whether the signatures on the disputed documents were authentic, describing them in his filing as “facially inconsistent.” He is seeking further examination of the signatures and wants the changes declared invalid. Those claims remain allegations, and the cited reporting does not indicate that a Pennsylvania court has ruled the documents invalid.
The challenge did not suddenly emerge this week. A ruling in the separate Delaware case identifies a Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court petition filed by CJ on February 20, 2026, challenging the changes that removed him from his grandmother’s trust. Delaware Court of Chancery records show that Barrow had accepted his appointment as successor trustee in March 2025, while the Pennsylvania case disputes whether he should remain in that position.
Voletta died on February 21, 2025, at age 78. According to the Associated Press, Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac said she died of natural causes at her home in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, following hospice care. AP reported that Voletta spent decades protecting the legacy of her only son after Biggie, born Christopher Wallace, was shot and killed in Los Angeles in 1997 at age 24. His murder remains unsolved.
Her role carried major financial weight. According to The Wall Street Journal, Voletta spent years securing her son’s music and intellectual property rights with the goal of protecting the financial future of his children. Shortly before her death, she approved a deal involving Biggie’s catalog that valued the estate at roughly $200 million.
The Voletta Wallace will fight is especially important because it overlaps with control of Notorious B.I.G., LLC. According to People, Voletta and Biggie’s widow Faith Evans formed the company in 2007 to manage the rapper’s intellectual property. The company later entered an equal partnership with Primary Wave in 2025. People reported that CJ, T’yanna, Voletta, and Evans were each entitled to 25% of the company’s distributions under the structure described in the court record.
Barrow recently scored a major victory in the Delaware portion of the dispute. On August 7, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick ruled that Voletta’s revocable trust is a member of Notorious B.I.G., LLC and is entitled to the rights that come with that membership. According to Bloomberg Law, the judge rejected arguments that the Delaware case should wait for the Pennsylvania estate dispute to be resolved.
That distinction could become critical in the Voletta Wallace will challenge. The Delaware ruling established the trust’s membership in the Biggie company, but it did not decide whether Barrow was properly placed in charge of the trust and estate. Bloomberg Law reported that McCormick found the trust’s membership status would remain intact regardless of whether the Pennsylvania proceeding ultimately keeps Barrow in place or replaces him.
Barrow has maintained through his legal team that Voletta wanted him to oversee Biggie’s legacy after her death. According to People, his attorney said following the Delaware victory that Barrow viewed the ruling as confirmation of the authority Voletta intended him to have. CJ’s Pennsylvania challenge takes direct aim at that position by questioning the validity of the changes that elevated Barrow while removing Wallace from the trust structure.
For a family that has spent nearly three decades protecting one of hip hop’s most valuable legacies, the dispute now comes down to what Voletta intended in the final weeks of her life and whether the documents carrying out those wishes will survive court scrutiny.
