Who will claim Prince’s millions?
Sister seeks administrator, saying superstar had no known will
When he was alive, Prince made hundreds of millions of dollars — for record companies, concert venues and others. That much is certain.
What’s less clear is how much he left behind and who’ll come forward to claim it.
Less than a week after the pop star died and an outpouring of grief and nostalgia prompted fans to buy 2.3 million of his songs in three days, it’s still uncertain whether he left a will, or who will handle his estate.
Prince’s sister says the superstar musician had no known will and filed paperwork Tuesday asking a Minneapolis court to appoint a special administrator to oversee his estate.
Tyka Nelson, Prince’s only surviving full sibling, says in the court filing that immediate action is necessary to manage Prince’s business interests.
Prince owned a dozen properties in and around his famous Paisley Park complex in suburban Minneapolis, mostly rural pieces of land and some houses for family members. Public records show those properties were worth about US$27 million in 2016. Estimates of how much licensing his personal brand will bring in after death reach to the purple clouds.
“He was as big as they get,” said Mark Roesler, chief executive of CMG Worldwide, which handles licensing for the estates of Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and other late stars.
If Prince filed a will or created a trust, heirs to his future fortune would be known. But no such documents have yet turned up.
Under Minnesota law, a person can file a will with probate court in secret. If Prince did so, the fact one exists would become public once a death certificate is filed, but the medical examiner has not yet issued one for Prince. An autopsy was conducted Friday and his remains were cremated Saturday.
L. Londell McMillan, a longtime lawyer and former manager of the superstar, declined to comment about whether the entertainer had a will or any other particulars regarding his estate, but added: “I want to make sure his legacy is respected and protected no matter what role I play.”
McMillan was Michael Jackson’s lawyer and played a role in his estate, as well as those of rapper Notorious B.I.G. and Sammy Davis Jr.
Wealthy people usually create trusts to avoid the public spectacle of probate court, and it’s probable Prince did so, according to Irwin Feinberg, a Los Angeles trust and probate lawyer.
Prince wasn’t married and had no known living children. Besides Nelson, his full sibling, he has five half-siblings (two other half-siblings have died), who could share in his estate if he has no will.
Prince sold more than 100 million albums in his lifetime, Warner Music Group says. And concert industry magazine Pollstar says that in the years his tours topped the charts he earned US$225 million in ticket sales.
But what remained in Prince’s hands is, by any estimate, less than the sum of ticket and album sales. In every record deal, a cut goes to the label, background performers and music publishers. Concert ticket revenue is split among the venue, the promoter, staff and the cost of travelling around. And Prince was known to throw expensive parties.