AIKEN --- The Georgia Attorney General's Office wants the lawyers overseeing James Brown's estate to keep their hands off his money, saying they've violated the singer's last wishes by paying bills with cash intended for charity and his grandchildren.

Meanwhile, two men who long handled financial affairs for the late Godfather of Soul say they want to retract their recent resignations because they believe they were improperly forced to quit by Judge Jack Early.

Buddy Dallas and Alford Bradley, who resigned Nov. 20 before a hearing on their possible firings, say in court papers filed in Aiken County Court that Judge Early used "improper judicial influence" to get their resignations, then violated state law when he named their replacements.

"I was certainly pressured to resign," Mr. Dallas said Tuesday, though he would not elaborate on the allegations.

He, along with Mr. Bradley, filed affidavits made public Tuesday asking that the order accepting their resignations and appointing their successors be overturned. They argue that it was done in violation of what Mr. Brown's trust spells out about changes and of South Carolina law.

They also accuse Judge Early of sending a letter asking them to resign before hearing evidence of their alleged misconduct, saying "that if a resignation was not tendered, it would 'be ugly' and sanctions would be imposed."

A phone call to Judge Early's office Tuesday seeking comment was not answered. A person answering his home phone Tuesday night said he was out of town. An e-mail sent to his law clerk did not get a response.

Neither of the two special administrators targeted by the attorney general's office -- Adele Pope or Robert Buchanan -- immediately returned messages left for them at their offices Tuesday.

Originally hired earlier this year to help settle the estate, Ms. Pope and Mr. Buchanan were elevated to trustees during that Nov. 20 court hearing and now control the singer's estate and the two charitable trusts.

Until now, the bulk of the legal challenges have focused on alleged misconduct by Mr. Dallas, Mr. Bradley and a third former trustee, David Cannon, who is accused of mishandling millions of the singer's money.

Now attention is being turned to who owns the rights to Mr. Brown's image, name and music -- his estate, which would likely be divvied up among his heirs, or the trusts, which would use the money to school his grandchildren and needy children in South Carolina and Georgia.

The special administrators say the estate owns the rights. Both the South Carolina and Georgia attorneys general offices, which are trying to protect the charities, say the trust does. Without the money, the trust can't afford to pay for any schooling.

The Georgia Attorney General's Office filed papers Nov. 30 saying it's not in the best interest of the trusts to have Ms. Pope or Mr. Buchanan overseeing them.

The two have mixed in money intended for the trusts with estate funds, paid bills with the cash and ordered that no more educational expenses be paid, according to documents filed by Grace Lewis, Georgia's senior assistant attorney general.

The two also would benefit if James Brown Enterprises -- through which the singer's money flows -- is declared an estate asset, Ms. Lewis argued, because they would receive larger commissions. Ms. Lewis has asked that they be replaced.

She's not the only one who thinks Ms. Pope and Mr. Buchanan are bad for the trusts.

Bill Hammond, a Georgia attorney who had been hired to help with estate tax matters, filed an affidavit that accused the two special administrators of conspiring to replace Mr. Dallas and Mr. Bradley as trustees.

Ms. Pope and Mr. Buchanan, he said in his affidavit, were "adversarial" and "confrontational" from the day he met them and ignored all legal evidence that the trust owns Mr. Brown's music royalties.

Mr. Hammond estimates the singer's assets could be valued at more than $85 million -- which should all belong to the trust, which also owns his Beech Island home.

He said he warned Mr. Dallas and Mr. Bradley that they were "sitting ducks for attempted removal" because in South Carolina, a personal administrator could earn 5 percent of an estate that's worth as much as Mr. Brown's.

Mr. Dallas said he's concerned the trusts won't have the money to carry out Mr. Brown's charitable wishes, and he was disturbed when told by Ms. Pope and Mr. Buchanan to stop paying school bills for three of the singer's grandchildren.

It's unclear when a decision will be made on the matters.

Ms. Pope and Mr. Buchanan have filed their own requests, asking for an expedited hearing to determine who owns James Brown Enterprises, among other possessions. They also want a quick decision on whether Tomi Rae Hynie Brown is the singer's widow.