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Heirs of Prince’s Estate Still Not Determined

Business_meetingThe lack of a will continues to create delays for the family of the late artist.

While there has been some progress with the estate, the judge in charge of Prince’s estate matter recently said that he is not yet ready to name heirs. He did indicate that Prince’s siblings would be among the heirs.

A Carver County, Minnesota judge in charge of probating the late rock star Prince’s estate, recently announced that he wasn’t ready to definitively name the heirs to his vast fortune. However, he did say that the late musician’s siblings would be among them.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune article, “Court holds off determining Prince's legal heirs, picks firm to oversee estate,” reported that Minnesota State District Judge Kevin Eide approved the application of Comerica Bank & Trust to replace Bremer Trust as the special administrator. The court also heard testimony on whether to appoint either CNN political commentator and attorney Van Jones or New York entertainment attorney L. Londell McMillan as a type of co-executor of the estate, but no decision was made on that issue.

Prince’s siblings and presumptive heirs are at odds over who should help manage his estate pending distribution to his heirs. Jones and McMillan each testified on why they think their appointment would benefit the estate.

Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson, and his half-brother Omarr Baker filed objections to the proposed appointment of McMillan. He’s been acting as a special adviser to Bremer Trust, the former special administrator appointed after Prince’s accidental death from an overdose of painkillers in April 2016. Nelson and Baker allege that McMillan has a conflict of interest because he gets a 10% commission on contracts the estate has signed thus far to market Prince’s music and image.

Because of the fact that Prince left no will, Tyka Nelson and his half-siblings are the likely heirs to his fortune, estimated at $100-$300 million. But estate taxes are expected to claim almost half, and much of the estate’s value remains to be determined. Judge Eide said pending appeals were delaying the final designation of heirs.

In a petition filed in December, Tyka Nelson requested that either Fiduciary Trust Co. International or Comerica be named to oversee the estate. Fiduciary Trust withdrew from consideration, and the presumptive heirs now agree that Comerica should oversee the estate. But all of the siblings, except Tyka Nelson and Baker want McMillan appointed as co-representative.

Tyka Nelson and Baker prefer Jones, who is also Baker’s attorney, to be co-representative. Nelson and Baker content that McMillan bungled a tribute concert, set up an after-party using estate assets without speaking to the heirs and leaked confidential information to Billboard magazine about the sale of Prince’s vault masters, among many other actions showing he is not suitable for the role.

What a mess!  No matter the size of your estate, settling an estate without a Will is a lengthy and expensive process.  Do your family and heirs a favor by creating an estate plan to protect your assets and leave a legacy. Contact our office today for a consultation with an Attorney to create a unique estate plan.  

Reference: Minneapolis Star Tribune (January 13, 2017) “Court holds off determining Prince's legal heirs, picks firm to oversee estate”

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