The hip-hop community is still reeling from the death of Earl “DMX” Simmons, but that hasn’t stopped battle lines from being drawn and becoming a big brouhaha.

With his memory being pushed into the hallowed hall of iconic luminaries like Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., streaming numbers and calls for celebratory moments in DMX’s name have caused members of his family to begin fighting over the affairs within his estate.

According to Page Six, Desirée Lindstrom, Simmons’ fiancée, recently applied to the court to be legally declared his “common law wife,” but a judge shot her down. If a ruling had been in her favor, the decision would’ve given Lindstrom, who was engaged to Simmons since 2019 and is the mother to his 5-year-old son, immediate seniority over his 14 children to potentially control his estate and all future earnings from his music. 

Simmons, who died in early April at age 50, following a drug overdose, left no will and few liquid assets. 

Meanwhile, his three adult sons from his marriage to Tashera Simmons—Xavier, 28, Tacoma, 21, and Sean, 19—are petitioning to be administrators. The Ruff Ryders’ franchise player has 14 legally recognized children, according to court filings, and include two adult daughters—Sasha Simmons and Jada Oden—who are also filing to be administrators. However, according to New York law, only descendants over 18 can be appointed administrators.

With no will from Simmons, an insider close to the situation makes this “a big problem” and a difficult one with a number of people vying to be named as administrators. “His fiancée Desiree tried to muscle in by asking the court to be named his common-law wife, which means she would have taken precedence over his children. But the court refused,” the insider shared with Page Six.

The next court date is July 15, where Judge Helen Blackwood will review submissions from DMX’s kids to decide the administrators.