BEECH ISLAND, S.C. — Tomi Rae Hynie smiled broadly as she rode into the estate of the late James Brown Friday afternoon for the first time since the entertainer died Christmas morning.

Only a few hours earlier in Circuit Court in Aiken, Judge Doyet "Jack" Early had ruled that Hynie, who considers herself to be Brown's widow, could enter the estate with her lawyers and with the personal representatives of Brown's estate.

On Dec. 25, Hynie had found herself locked out of the estate and blamed Brown's lawyer, Albert "Buddy" Dallas for keeping her from her home.

"I'm happy to be going into my home," Hynie told reporters Friday after a court hearing to help settle legal arguments about the late singer's estate. "I thank the judge very much."

Early ruled that Hynie could retrieve personal belongings, including a bedroom suite, clothes and china.

However, Early did not rule on her petition to appoint a special administrator to Brown's estate. The judge also did not rule on a motion that Brown's six children and eight grandchildren had filed to remove the three personal representatives of Brown's estate.

Brown's grown children and Hynie contend that the three personal representatives cannot perform their duties impartially.

"I will make a ruling by no later than next week," Early told the 13 lawyers and dozens of family members in the courtroom.

The hearing, which originally had been scheduled for Feb. 1, had the trappings of a Southern drama.

The personal representatives of Brown's estate were represented by four lawyers, one of whom is Strom Thurmond Jr., son of the late U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, whose portrait hangs in the courtroom.

Hynie had six lawyers in the courtroom, including chief counsel Robert Rosen of Charleston. Brown's six children were represented by Atlanta lawyers Louis Levinson and David Yount, but they were supported emotionally by their local pastor and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

At one point during the three-hour hearing, Brown family members gasped when a lawyer said that Brown's mother had died when he was a child.

"Our grandmother only died two years ago," said Venisha Brown, daughter of the Godfather of Soul.

Strom Thurmond Jr. argued that Brown could have changed his will at any time had he not trusted the personal representatives.

"I don't know that we need a special administrator to divvy up pots and pans," Thurmond said, referring to the household furnishings that Brown bequeathed to his children.

In his chambers Friday, Early urged the lawyers to come up with a solution for burying Brown, whose body lies somewhere in a mortuary in the Augusta area. Lawyers said they could not disclose details of that conversation or when or where Brown might come to rest.

Brown hoped to be buried on his estate, where he had dreams of making a Graceland-style attraction, lawyers for Brown have said.