*Three years after the death of music icon Prince Rogers Nelson at age 57, his massive estate, believed to be worth hundreds of millions, remains in limbo as it is “still unsettled, still not officially valued and still not disbursed to the heirs, his six siblings,” USA Today writes.
An army of lawyers have spent the past three years “racking up bills, arguing with each other, arguing with the heirs, arguing with consultants hired to advise on various estate matters, and filing blizzards of documents and paperwork with the Carver County probate court, which has made little progress in its mission to sort all this,” the report states.
According to newly filed court documents, Prince’s heirs — Tyka Nelson, his full sister, and his half-siblings, Norrine Nelson, Sharon Nelson, John Nelson, Alfred Jackson and Omarr Baker — claim administrators have spent $45 million on probate-related administrative expenses, including $10 million in legal fees. They also claim the estate still owes $31 million in unpaid taxes that continues to collect interest.
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Many believe the seemingly messy handling of Prince’s estate is a direct result of the late singer not having a will.
“He probably didn’t like to think about that,” said Judith T. Younger, a law professor at the University of Minnesota. She told USA Today that this is not uncommon.
“It’s not unusual (because) he had complicated assets, he had a lot of money, he didn’t leave a will – not that that would necessarily hasten the process,” she says. “His assets are hard to manage. The heirs fight among themselves. But that’s not unique, not in Minnesota or anywhere in the country.”
Prince’s six siblings are trying to take more control over the estate and have filed a petition to limit the power of Comerica Bank & Trust, which was put in place by the court in 2017 to administer the estate, per Yahoo via The Blast.
The estate has countered, saying, “The heirs are understandably frustrated that, three years after their brother’s death, the Estate is not ready to be closed. But the fact remains that until the Estate resolves its tax liability with the IRS and MNDOR (Minnesota state taxes), neither the court nor Comerica can close the Estate or make a distribution of assets to the Heirs.”
Comerica is demanding the court deny the petition and not limit their power as it will hinder their ability to settle financial matters and close the estate.
April 21, 2019 will mark the 3rd anniversary of the death of Prince, who died from an overdose of drugs.
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