How is it possible that Prince did NOT have an estate plan when he died?
The first issue was, who would administer the estate? Prince wasn’t married and didn’t have children but had half-siblings, many of them in fact. And becoming the administrator would allow his half-sibling control over arguably $163M. Surely, this was an expensive battle.
Next, the estate became embroiled in an extensive fight with the IRS over the amount of estate taxes owed. The federal estate tax is 40% on every dollar over the federal estate tax exemption ($5.45M at the time of his death). His estate may pay upwards of $32M-65M in taxes to the IRS once they agree on the value of his estate. It will also owe over $10M to Minnesota for state-level estate taxes.
Next, Prince was known to be an extremely private man. However, everything about the administration of his estate has been made public because probate is a public process through the courts. In contrast, a trust administration is private and made known only to the beneficiaries of the trust.
The worst of this scenario is that nearly 6 years have passed since his death and not a single penny of his estate has been distributed to his family. His lawyers and administrator have already collected $7.3M and have requested an additional $2.9M in fees!
Had Prince had an estate plan and properly funded trust, the administration of his estate would have been a very different and less costly endeavor. RIP Prince. You were a musical genius, but we wished you had better counsel. Act now to put your plans in writing and protect your loved ones.
Why should you wait any longer?
Take a chance
It could only make you stronger
It’s your time
— Prince