Idaho Law Blog
Unless you have been living under a rock, it is common knowledge that the famed singer and songwriter who called himself Prince, died in April of 2016, at the age of 57. It is also well known that he died without a written Last Will and Testament. What you may not know but could probably guess is that his family, which mainly includes his siblings and half siblings, are now fighting over who will get his $300 million estate. He had two ex-wives, no (known) surviving children, and his parents had died years before. He does have one full sister, and he has five half-siblings through each of his parents.
Under Minnesota law, which is where Prince resided when he died, his estate would be divided between his full sister, and his five surviving half-siblings. This is because of the applicable intestate laws and the fact that Prince’s parents are deceased, he wasn’t married, and he has no known children.
But this is where the fight just begins. There are two compelling additional claimants to Prince’s estate who are the daughter and granddaughter of Prince’s late half-sibling Duane. Apparently, the other siblings left Duane’s name out of the initial probate filing because they believe he is not actually the son of Prince’s father, and therefore not biologically related to the singer, despite the fact Prince’s father is listed as a parent on Duane’s birth certificate.
The probate judge also had his hands full with dozens of people who claimed to be Prince’s blood relatives, including a Colorado inmate alleging to be his love child; a woman seeking $750 billion as compensation for her “now 40 years long post-Civil Rights Movement Sociopolitical Hostage Crisis” that somehow had something to do with Prince; someone who filed a billion-dollar claim thanks to an “implied agreement”; and a secret wife who claimed to be involved in a C.I.A. cover-up. In July, the probate judge dismissed 29 of these cases and ordered DNA testing to determine who really is biologically related to Prince on his father’s side. The results of those DNA tests have not yet been revealed.
The probate proceedings will be costing the family individually and the estate collectively several hundreds of thousands of dollars before they are completed. The lesson to be learned from this mess is the importance of having a written last will and testament, in addition to the other estate planning documents that each person should have. If Prince had simply had a Last Will and Testament drawn up before he died, none of the wacky claims, or the fights between family members, would be occurring. There is a lesson for each of us to be learned from the mistakes made by Prince.
If you have questions about completing your own estate planning, including a Last Will and Testament, we can help. Call us toll free at 877-232-6101 or 208-232-6101 for a consultation with Lane Erickson and the Racine Olson team of Estate Planning attorneys in Idaho. You can also email Lane Erickson directly at lve@racinelaw.net. We will answer your Idaho Estate Planning questions and will help you solve your Idaho Estate Planning problems.
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