TMZ(?) or someone reported that the Houston-Brown family (while still married) supported a large number of Brown relatives. That might be where a whole lot of her money went.
Of course, Michael Jackson wrote most of his own music, and thus his estate benefited tremendously from the boost in sales and airplay when he bought the farm. That’s not the case with Houston; her estate will benefit some from sales royalties, but she’s not getting any songwriter or publishing income, which is where the big bucks are.
It’s still money coming in and I assume not going out.
Not sure what the rights and obligations of the trustee are when it comes to hangers-on and other entourage. If he is not allowed to continue supporting them, there’ll be a lot of sorry relatives.
As Dolly explained it parabolically: “When I recorded ‘I Will Always Love You,’ I opened a bank account,. When Whitney Houston recorded it, I bought the bank!”