Country songwriter Brett James executed a will two years before he and two family members died in a plane crash, court documents obtained exclusively by Us Weekly reveal.
On September 29, James’ business manager, Catherine Moore, filed court documents seeking to be appointed executor of the estate. The musician is survived by his four children — sons Preston, Samuel and David and daughter Clare — whom he shared with his ex-wife, Sandra Cornelius-Little. James’ four kids will inherit his fortune.
James died on September 18 in a plane crash in North Carolina at the age of 57. His wife, Melody Carole, and his stepdaughter, Meryl Wilson, were also killed in the crash. They were 59 and 28, respectively.
James’ last will and testament, dated September 5, 2023, was submitted as part of the case. The county music star said he wanted Moore to serve as executor. He noted if Moore was unavailable, then he wanted a woman named Kella to take over and if she couldn’t serve, then he asked that his eldest son, Preston, step into the role.
He said if his ex-wife, Cornelius-Little, died before him, then he would nominate his son Preston to also serve as guardian of the former couple’s younger children.
The last will and testament instructed the executors to distribute any furniture, household items, automobiles, personal effects and other items to his trust. James’ children will likely be paid out their inheritance from the trust. The filing noted James owned an interest in Cornman Music and Believer Artist Management.
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As Us previously reported, on Monday, October 20, the National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report on the crash. Per officials, James was flying the single engine plane when he requested a “visual approach” to land, but then made a full turn, which led to him losing control of the plane.
The Federal Aviation Administration had previously confirmed there were no survivors on September 18.
James was well-known in the country world. He worked with Carrie Underwood on her 2005 hit “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts and many others.
Aldean, 48, wrote a tribute to the songwriter on X.
He said, “Heartbroken to hear of the loss of my friend Brett James tonight. I had nothing but love and respect for that guy and he helped change my life. Honored to have met him and worked with him. Thoughts and prayers going out to his family.”
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Singer Dierks Bentley also shared an emotional note about James, who he called “one of the best singer-songwriters in our town.”
“Rest in peace pal. Total stud. Fellow aviator. Total legend, ” Bentley, 49, wrote on social media. “I brought a couple of roughly sketched verse ideas of I Hold On to Brett after my dad died and he just did his thing. The chorus is all him. When I sing that song live, I’m always thinking of my dad, but I also think about that day we wrote it. He just got it, just lit into it. It was one of the first times we wrote and I decided to drop the most meaningful and necessary idea of a song I had on him, because I felt like God was telling me to do so. Our friendship and that song changed my life.”
Bentley ended, “Prayers for his family.”
