Prince did not make a will.
A settlement was signed in a Minnesota court on Monday, August 1, that will finally end the long legal battle over Prince's $156.4 million estate, more than six years after the iconic artist's death.
The deal, which was reached at a hearing on Friday, July 29, paves the way for the disbursement of Prince's assets, including $6 million in cash and multiples in music rights and other intangible assets. It will be shared between three heirs and their families, their advisers and Primary Wave, which owns about half of Prince's inheritance.
Prince died of a fentanyl overdose in April 2016 at the age of 57. Although he was renowned for his strict control over his copyrights, the iconic artist died without a will, triggering a complex process where the courts would decide how his estate would be distributed.
Because Prince died childless or without a spouse, his six half-siblings were declared his legal heirs. Three of them have since sold all or most of their shares in Primary Wave, while another three have retained their shares.
Advisors L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer, who are working with the three heirs who have refused to sell his shares, also control an undisclosed stake. one bank, Comerica Bank & Trust, was appointed by the court as administrator of Prince's estate and handled all related affairs while the case was pending.
After years of wrangling between the parties in question, the last major hurdle was cleared in January when the heirs reached an agreement with US tax authorities to set Prince's fortune at $156 million. In February, the judge overseeing the case approved the basic structure for how assets would be divided between Prince's heirs and Primary Wave.
With those issues out of the way, all that remained was to convert Prince's holdings into limited companies – a step taken to limit tax liability – and create a management plan for how the two camps of heirs would work together to manage Prince's music and other jointly owned assets.
In Friday's deal, Prince's cash and various holding companies were split equally between a holding company called Prince Legacy LLC (the heirs as well as McMillan and Spicer, managed by McMillan's NorthStar Group) and Prince Oat Holdings LLC (Primary Wave). It also cleared the way for Comerica to be removed from the administrator position after some liquidation work was completed.
In a statement to Billboard, a spokesperson for Primary Wave said the company is "extremely pleased that the process of finalizing Prince's estate is now complete."
"Prince was an iconic superstar and his estate is being passed from the court's jurisdiction to professional, expert management," Primary Wave said.
“When we announced the acquisition of additional legacy royalties last year, bringing our ownership percentage to 50%, our goal was to protect and develop Prince's unparalleled legacy. With the distribution of heritage assets, we look forward to a strong and productive partnership," he stressed.
In his own statement, McMillan explained that he and his partners are "relieved and excited that we're finally done with probate and bankers who don't know the music business and didn't know Prince," adding that they look forward to "making things the way Prince did."
“I've represented Prince for over 13 years and we've led the way with innovation in reforming the music industry – we hope to do the same with his amazing assets and catalog, from his music, cinematic content, exhibits, merchandise, Paisly Park events, merchandise and more,” he said.
"It is a historic and very exciting moment. Prince is almost free to rest now…” he noted.
