American Royalty – Part 1 – Prince of Planning

Being wealthy or being famous is not the same thing as being prepared.  Let’s examine the circumstances of Rogers Nelson.  Mr. Nelson passed away at age 57.  He had been married two times and divorced two times.  He had one child who predeceased him.  When he passed, Mr. Nelson had no Will, no Living Trust, and no Estate Plan of any nature.  The estimated value of his estate ranged anywhere from $82 mm to $160 mm.

Mr. Nelson’s parents had previously passed away.  He had six siblings at the time of his death.  These siblings would stand to inherit, correct?  Not so fast and not so easy when we recognize that Mr. Nelson was better known as Prince.

Three of Prince’s brothers and sisters immediately cashed out and sold their potential interests to Prince Oats Holdings, LLC.  The three other siblings cut a deal with Prince’s business advisors McMillan and Spicer to form Prince Legacy, LLC.  These latter three siblings provided a 10% stake to McMillan and Spicer, but yielded control to them regarding music rights of Prince.  Prince died in 2016 and his estate has been tied up in litigation since that time with these vipers all seeking control of his music empire.

The disputes include infighting among the three siblings who sold a portion of their interests to establish Prince Legacy, LLC.  Litigation focuses on intellectual property rights for songs and works of Prince.  The three siblings who initially sold their interests to Prince Oats Holdings, LLC, have been drawn back into the litigation fray.  There is no end in sight to the legal battles.

I doubt that Prince desired that his music empire and his life works would be tied up in endless litigation principally between two LLCs fighting over control and his money.

Estate planning is for everyone.  You need not be a prince, queen or king.  Indeed, being Prince himself did not mean success in planning for or addressing affairs after he would be gone.  Even the most rudimentary estate planning may have cut off almost ten years of litigation generating millions in fees – for lawyers.  Prince guided us musically.  He failed to guide his own circumstances in death.

Enjoy the musical legacy of Prince and also learn from his own mistakes when it comes to Estate Planning.  The best lesson of all:  get an Estate Plan before it is too late.  You may not be royalty, but you can do better than America’s own Prince.  Contact Estate Planning Attorney Michael Geiger at 901.219.5549 or at [email protected].