That’s a question that we’ll never know the answer to. If he was like more than half of the people in this country, he just hadn’t gotten around to writing one, didn’t think he needed a will or didn’t care what happened to his estate once he was gone. Regardless of his reason, the fact remains that he didn’t have a will and the probate court will decide what happens to all of his assets.
Minnesota law is quite clear. If a person dies intestate (without a will), the estate goes to his children, grandchildren, spouse or parents. Since Prince had no children, grandchildren or spouse and his parents are deceased, his entire estate will go to his brothers and sisters. Prince had six half-brothers and half-sisters as well as a full sister, Tyka Nelson. In Minnesota, half siblings are considered to have the same inheritance rights as those who are full siblings.
To muddy the waters, hundreds of people have come forward and said they were relatives of Prince. In addition, a Minnesota man in his 30’s has said that he’s Prince’s son as a result of a relationship between the deceased and his mother in the 1980’s.
Prince’s estate has been estimated at between $150 and $300 million. In addition to real estate and money, there are several unpublished works and a lot of unreleased music that can be worth millions.
Something that hasn’t been discussed in any of the articles we’ve read is Prince’s digital estate. He kept many unpublished works in a vault bank but what if he kept others in an electronic account? What if there is a will but it is stored in Drop Box or some other online storage facility? Unless he left instructions or provided someone with a list of his digital accounts and their passwords, we may never know the full extent of his assets and their value.
Whatever the final disposition of Prince’s estate – who receives what based on Minnesota probate law – and its final value, there are two lessons we should all learn from this.
- See an attorney and get a will prepared. Even if you don’t have the kind of assets Prince had, it’s still a very important thing to do. Don’t let state statutes determine what happens to your estate. You decide.
- Document your wishes related to your digital assets. Do you want anyone to see what’s in your private emails or do you want them destroyed? Do you want your Facebook account shut down or do you want it to be memorialized and continue? What do you want to happen to your Bitcoin account? What are your logons and passwords for accounts that have financial implications?
Don’t wait. You don’t know what will happen tomorrow or how long you’ll be on this earth. Get your legal paperwork in order now.
To find out more information about estate planning, go to our website www.diesmart.com. To find out more about digital estates, check out our book, Access Denied: Why your passwords are now just as important as your will.