Nipsey Hussle’s family has won a major victory in court against his ex-girlfriend, Tanisha Foster. A judge has ruled that the family will control the estate for the late rapper’s daughter, Emani.
The hearing was held this week in the never-ending war between Nipsey’s family and Tanisha over 14-year-old Emani. The judge ruled that Nipsey’s mom Angelique, his brother Sam, and sister Samantha will be co-guardians over Emani’s finances, including her $2 million+ inheritance.
Nipsey was murdered on March 31, 2019. He left behind Emani, and a son named Kross, who he had with his girlfriend Lauren London. The only beneficiaries of the musician’s estate were his two children.
Nipsey’s brother Sam was selected to manage the rapper’s estate which was valued at $4 million. Sam believes the estate will bring in another $4.7 million annually.
Following his death, Nipsey’s mom Angelique Smith, his brother Sam, and sister Samantha were appointed physical custody of Emani. The family claimed Tanisha was not fit to take care of the child.
In August 2021, Nipsey’s family filed a petition to be appointed guardians of Emani’s estate, which would allow them to control her inheritance and make investments with her money.
Tanisha objected to the petition. She demanded the court deny the request and allow her to take over control of Emani’s estate – and regain custody.
In her filing, Tanisha claimed at the time of his death, Nipsey and her were on good terms. She said they shared custody, but Nispey took care of their bills because of his “far superior economic powers.”
Tanisha said Nipsey never tried to take legal custody of Emani from her during his lifetime. She claimed the rapper had been paying for her apartment before his death — but his family cut her off after his murder.
Nipsey’s ex admitted she entered into an agreement to allow the musician’s family to have custody of Emani in 2019. However, she said her “motivation for doing so was” due to her “financial limitations” at the time.
Tanisha said the family promised they would “act in the best interests of Emani.”
However, she said “shortly after entering into the agreement”, the family used their “collective financial power and influence to disregard their priorities by controlling the desires of Emani and Tanisha by withholding financial assistance and reducing visitation.”
As a result, Tanisha demanded that the custody be awarded back to her and the petition for the guardianship be dismissed. She argued the family did not have the education or experience in the area of investments of other financial planning. She said the co-guardians also frequently “demonstrated a disdain for” her in “favor of Lauren London” and “such attitude may impact the ability of the [family] to carry out their fiduciary duties as guardian of the estate of Emani.”
Tanisha said the family had told her in 2019 that the custody arrangement could be revisited but then took her to court.
At the hearing, the judge ruled that the family would be co-guardians of Emani’s estate despite Tanisha’s objection. In addition, the court vacated the scheduled November 17 trial date.
The court minutes did not state whether any decision on custody was made. RadarOnline.com previously reported, last month, the judge awarded Tanisha additional visitation with Emani.
This is a major victory for Nipsey’s family, and it will be interesting to see how the custody case plays out.