

As one of music’s biggest names, Prince earned millions of dollars over the course of his career — nearly $250 million and counting, to be exact. Before his shocking death on April 21, Prince clearly wasn’t concerned about where all of that money would go if he were to pass away. The singer has one biological sister and five half-siblings, but supposedly didn’t leave any instruction about who gets what…or if they’re even going to get any at all!
Because Prince’s parents are both deceased as well, the next in line to receive Prince’s huge fortune is his full biological sister, Tyka Nelson. But if there’s no formal will in place, Tyka will have to share the money with all five of their half-siblings, estate attorney Jeffrey P. Scott, partner at St. Paul, Minnesota, firm Jeffrey P. Scott & Associates told People. As of April 25, a will has not publicly emerged.
No matter who Prince’s money goes to, though, it will come with a massive estate tax, as anything over $1.6 million in Minnesota (Prince’s home state), and anything over $5.4 million at the federal level. If Jeffrey and his colleagues find that Prince left everything to charity, all those taxes are void.
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But if Prince didn’t leave anything to charity, it seems the $250 million fortune will be split six ways. It has also been speculated that Prince may have left some of his fortune to the Jehovah’s Witness Church, which would complicate things even further. And it’s not just the money to be concerned about, either — Prince’s entire music library (including some unreleased projects) needs a home as well.
“All the royalties would shift to the beneficiary or the heir, or whoever it is that inherits,” Jeffrey said. “[The beneficiary] would step into his shoes, more or less, to receive all the assets outright and to receive the future royalties.”
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In this case, Tyka would be the smartest option, as she is also a musician and will likely take the best care of Prince’s estate. “Being a musician herself and his blood relative, the assumption is that she will not simply follow the money, she will act in the estate’s best interests by not extending his name to causes he did not believe in just to produce an income,” attorney Kamilla Mishiyeva of New York City’s Mishiyeva Law, PLLC told People. Whether there is a will secured, Kamilla said that it’s likely for at least one of Prince’s siblings will contest the estate.
As if the fate of near $300 million estate isn’t enough to make Prince’s fans and surviving family concerned, they also don’t know Prince’s cause of death just yet. His sudden passing came just days after Prince revealed he had been suffering from a bad case of the flu, but reports have also suggested that drugs may have been involved. Although an autopsy was performed on Prince’s body on April 22, results won’t be available for another few weeks. Let’s hope that by the time those results come in, Prince’s siblings will also know where his estate money belongs!
Who do you think should get Prince’s money, HollywoodLifers? Are you surprised he didn’t have a will? Tell us below!