Prince’s six siblings will share in $200 million estate
Prince passed away on April 21, 2016 due to an overdose from the powerful drug Fentanyl. He died without a will and he did not have any children. As a result, under Minnesota law his siblings were next in line to be named heirs to his vast estate.
Immediately after his death, many people came forward claiming that they were related to Prince and they should share in his estate. As many as 45 people came forward. Carver County District Judge Kevin Eide ruled out many of these potential heirs. Justice Eide previously refused to declare the six siblings heirs to the Prince estate pending any appeals by the potential claimants.
A recent story confirms that Justice Eide ruled that Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson, and five half-siblings, Sharon Nelson, Norrine Nelson, John R. Nelson, Omarr Baker, and Alfred Jackson will be heirs to his estate. Justice Eide declared that if any rejected claimants are sent back to him by appellate Courts, he will consider them.
Estate distribution will not impact rights of any appellants
Justice Eide also ruled that estate assets will not be distributed without a Court order. Estate assets will not distributed if doing so would have an adverse effect on any pending appeals. It is not clear how many appeals are pending at this time.
The latest decision comes at a crucial time for the heirs and the estate. The estate has recently made deals to make Prince’s albums available online by streaming. Furthermore, a remastered Purple Rain album will be released in the near future. Additionally, two albums of unreleased music and two concert films are also going to be released.
The estate will likely continue generating income for many years. Depending on how many pending appeals there are, the Prince estate may be involved in litigation for many years to come. It will be interesting to follow this story.
More on this story here.