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Summary: What will happen to Prince’s estate?
When Prince died on April 21 of this year, rumors swirled that he had not left a will of who would manage his estimated $300 million estate. After a few months, it appears that the music legend who was notoriously protective of his image and work actually did not leave any instruction on what to do with his fortune or music. Now, his heirs must battle each other in the Minnesota court system.
TCB Magazine reports that an estate executor has not been named, but Bremer Trust has taken over Prince’s financials temporarily. Since Prince did not state who he wanted to leave his fortune to, the courts must decide which of his family members are entitled to his fortune. When Prince passed, he was not married, and the public was unaware if he had any children. Prince had one full-sister Tyka Nelson and five living half-siblings.
On April 26, Nelson filed papers in probate court stating that her brother did not have a will, which has since been confirmed. Legal experts at the time said that Prince’s estate would more than likely divide equally between her and the other siblings.
However, there have been a few people seemingly coming out of the woodwork wanting a piece of Prince’s legacy. Carlin Williams of Colorado claimed in May that he was Prince’s long lost son. Later, a Wisconsin woman filed a lawsuit on behalf of her daughter, claiming the minor was Prince’s grandniece.
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If Williams can prove that he is Prince’s child, he could end up being the sole heir to Prince’s fortune. The paternity results have not yet been released, but regardless of who is eventually named to be the estate executor, that person or persons will have to pay a hefty estate tax—40% federal and 16% state.
TCB Magazine reported that estate tax can only be avoided if the money had gone to charity or Prince’s spouse. Furthermore, Prince’s family are now tasked with the tricky aspect of estimating how much money they believe the estate will earn in the future. In the case of Prince, that number could be astronomical considering he owned the copyrights to most of his work and had a vault of unreleased material.
What do you think will happen to Prince’s estate? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: TCB Magazine
Picture courtesy of CNN
