Testing Prince’s heirs: Who’s out?
At least 24 people who claimed to be halfsiblings, or have distant family tree connections to Prince, have been ruled out of receiving any of the superstar's fortune.
After a meticulous and months-long process of genetic testing to determine the veracity of would-be heirs to United States pop superstar Prince’s fortune, the results are in.
According to court documents made public on Friday, Minnesota judge Kevin WEide ruled that anyone other than Prince’s siblings or half-siblings (and two of their possible descendants) were automatically excluded from his multimillion-dollar estate.
That means that now at least 24 people who claimed to be a half-sibling through someone other than Prince’s father, or those claiming more distant family tree connections, are out.
Five people claiming to be Prince’s children, whose names were redacted under Minnesota law, were also ruled out.
‘‘Child 1’’ claimed to be an adopted child of Prince but failed to provide proof.
‘‘Child 2’’ claimed to be the result of a brief sexual relationship between his mother and Prince, but since he was adopted, was legally disqualified as an heir.
‘‘Child 3’’ was adopted and suspects Prince was her father ‘‘based upon the general description of the lifestyle of her biological parents and her fascination’’ with Prince (a judge ruled she was disqualified under the same Minnesota adoption laws as ‘‘Child 2’’).
‘‘Child 4’’ said he ‘‘inferred’’ from conversations overheard that his mother had sex with Prince, but could not provide an affidavit from his mother
‘‘Child 5’’ claimed his ‘‘mother told him, at age 28, that his father was ‘very smart and intelligent’’’, but could not provide other proof.
One self-proclaimed son, a federal prisoner named Carlin Q Williams, had already been tested and ruled out. Who’s in? Prince’s siblings and half-siblings John Nelson, Norrine Nelson, Sharon Nelson, Alfred Jackson, Omarr Baker and Tyka Nelson.
These six siblings and half-siblings are the same people listed as Prince’s only heirs in Tyka Nelson’s original paperwork seeking a special administrator for the estate in the absence of a known will.
Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson, died on April 21, aged 57, from an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl. He was found slumped in an elevator and CPR efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Prince’s estate has been conservatively estimated at being worth US$300 million (NZ$416m). In addition, his music catalogue was worth US$500m because he owned both the master recordings and his own music publishing.