The administrator of Prince's estate had once estimated its value at $82.3 million. The Internal Revenue Service said it thought the real number was double that. Now, nearly six years after the legal fight over the late singer's estate began, a final figure has been arrived at, and it looks like the IRS was literally right on the money, per the AP. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that all of the parties involved in the wrangling over the estate—including the IRS, administrator Comerica Bank & Trust, and Prince's heirs—have agreed on a valuation of $156.4 million, which isn't much less than what the IRS had valued the estate at in 2020.
The value was revealed Friday in probate court in Carver County, Minn. Prince, 57, who died of a fentanyl overdose in April 2016, didn't have a will, which set off a yearslong battle. Now that an agreement has been struck, distribution of Prince's wealth to his heirs could start as soon as next month. Two of his siblings have died since the estate battle started, while two others are in their 80s. It appears that the estate will likely be divvied up among Primary Wave—a New York music firm that bought out most or all of the interests of Prince's three youngest siblings—and his three oldest siblings or their families. The latter siblings spurned previous offers from Primary Wave.
Part of the holdup in wrapping up the probate process was tied to music rights for Prince's extensive catalog, which the Guardian notes "spans funk, R&B, new wave, and beyond, and contains pop masterpieces such as Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, and 1999." Estate holders can earn income every time a Prince song is played in a movie, TV show, or ad, as well as from sales and streaming royalties. At any rate, everyone involved appears to be relieved the process is finally coming to a close. "It has been a long six years," an attorney for the singer's three oldest siblings said Friday in court, per the Star Tribune. (More Prince stories.)
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