Reuters
Music superstar Prince left no known will when he died last week, his sister said in court documents on Tuesday listing his six siblings or half-siblings as heirs to a legacy estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.
The sister, Tyka Nelson, asked that a special administrator be appointed to handle Prince’s affairs and that she be appointed to probate his estate.
In documents filed in a state court in Carver County, Minnesota, Nelson listed herself and five other siblings or half-siblings as Prince’s heirs but gave no value of his assets or debts.
“The administration of Prince’s estate may prove to be an extreme example of the consequences of not having an estate plan. While not all of us have millions of dollars to be managed following our deaths, each of us has a need for at least a basic estate plan.
“Asset management is the essential issue of estate planning. While estate planning certainly involves the transfer of assets between generations, tax planning, and asset protection, the heart of the issue is this: who will manage your property interests on your behalf when you are unable to do so yourself due to incapacity or death?
“Many people think they must be wealthy to need an estate plan, but regardless of the extent of your property interests, someone will have to manage them if you cannot do so yourself. Estate planning is about providing you with tools to clearly define the who, what, and how of managing your property interests when you are unable to—whether that is $10,000 in the bank or Prince’s millions.
“The need to plan applies to all. Please contact us to arrange a consultation with one of our estate planning attorneys so we can empower you with the tools necessary to avoid the unfortunate consequences of not having an estate plan.”
~ Tim Heilman
