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AP

Search to identify Prince's heirs as he died 'without a will'

Immediate decisions must be made about his business interests.

A MINNESOTA JUDGE appointed a corporate trust company today to temporarily oversee Prince’s multimillion-dollar estate, saying the emergency appointment was necessary because the superstar musician doesn’t appear to have a will and immediate decisions must be made about his business interests.

Judge Kevin Eide granted a request from Prince’s sister to appoint Bremer Trust as special administrator, giving the company authority to manage and supervise Prince’s assets and identify his heirs.

Eide said Prince had no appointed personal representative but had substantial assets and owned businesses that require immediate attention and ongoing management.

The judge also noted that identities and addresses of Prince’s heirs need to be determined.

Prince’s only full sibling, Tyka Nelson, requested the move, telling the court she believed her brother didn’t have a will. Prince also has five surviving half-siblings who could share in the estate.

Intestate

APTOPIX Prince Death AP AP

Eide wrote that Prince died “intestate,” meaning he did not have a valid will, and said there was no pending application or petition for probate of a will in any court.

However, someone could still come forward with a will or trust document, which happened after Michael Jackson died in June 2009. Jackson’s longtime lawyer John Branca filed a will six days after his death, upending moves by Jackson’s mother to become his estate’s executor based on her assumption there wasn’t a will.

For now, Bremer Trust will act as special administrator for six months or until a personal representative is appointed, whichever is less.

Prince, 57, died last week at Paisley Park, his famous home and recording studio complex in suburban Minneapolis. His cause of death hasn’t been released. An autopsy was conducted Friday, but results aren’t expected to be released for weeks.

The value of his estate isn’t known. Prince made hundreds of millions of dollars for record companies, concert venues and others, and the outpouring of grief and nostalgia after his death prompted fans to buy 2.3 million of his songs in just three days.

Prince also owned a dozen properties in Minnesota, most of it undeveloped land and some houses for relatives, worth about $27 million, according to public records.

He also sold more than 100 million albums, and concert industry magazine Pollstar reported that in the years Prince’s tours topped the charts — 10 years over four decades performing — they raked in $225 million in ticket sales.

But it’s not clear how much money Prince had when he died, given that he had to pay record labels and staff and cover other expenses.

Eide said Bremer Trust was in the best position to handle Prince’s estate. The judge noted that its affiliate, Bremer Bank, had worked with Prince and has knowledge of his personal and business finances.

The judge said Nelson and one of Prince’s half-brothers, Omarr Baker, were part of the telephone conference that prompted his decision. The judge said no one objected to appointing a special administrator.

Under Minnesota law, if a person dies without a will — and with no surviving parents, children, or grandchildren — the next people in line to share in the estate are the surviving siblings, including half-siblings. Prince wasn’t married and had no known living children.

Read: Prince has been cremated and laid to rest in a secret location>

Read: This breathtaking Prince performance with Tom Petty almost didn’t happen…>

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37 Comments
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    Mute Neil Ward
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    Nov 10th 2011, 8:26 PM

    Not a mortgage holder, and I’m not unbiased, but fair play to the Govt for staring them down

    115
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    Mute Niall Mulligan
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    Nov 10th 2011, 8:38 PM

    No vested interests either, but I’m even more shocked that at the stance they took in the first place.

    51
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    Mute Frank Buffets
    Favourite Frank Buffets
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    Nov 10th 2011, 8:42 PM

    Like It takes guts to do that when the bank is state owned! Give yourselves a salary increase for help with our spin.

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    Mute Ballyer Rules
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    Nov 10th 2011, 9:40 PM

    The PTSB are the biggest gangsters in this and are gettin away with it. They increased the rates 3 times recently and although they will be reducing this .25% they are still by far the dearest.

    21
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    Mute Gavin McDonnell
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    Nov 11th 2011, 4:14 AM

    I think you’ll find Ulster bank are the most expensive at 5.1%

    3
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    Mute Pete Gibson
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    Nov 10th 2011, 8:19 PM

    AIB only exists because stupid taxpayers pay their bills.

    52
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    Mute Rod McAlpine
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    Nov 10th 2011, 8:19 PM

    I can not believe that they are getting away with this. The Bank has 3,000 employees it does not need and coupled with a host of branches that should be shut the cost to the tax payer is truly astronomical. recent salary increases on top of inflated salary levels add to the pension fund cost.

    50
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    Mute Johnny Zillion
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    Nov 10th 2011, 8:54 PM

    Why is the EBS rate 1.5% higher than AIB and they are merged institutions?
    The EBS borrowers are being excessively penalised….

    45
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    Mute Derek Turner
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    Nov 10th 2011, 9:57 PM

    I think every aib or bank worker on the journal is giving the thumbs down

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    Mute Frank Gallen
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    Nov 10th 2011, 10:57 PM

    What recent salary increase would that be?

    6
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    Mute Ryan Murphy
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    Nov 10th 2011, 11:45 PM

    I started with EBS, some years ago when they were among the cheapest on the market, and I liked the whole idea of a mutual. Because of the race to the bottom, driven in part by Anglo, AIB were at one (later) point the second cheapest on the market for mortgages, and this received some publicity, with the IT publishing a comprehensive “scoresheet” as it were of the rates available at that time-late ’06 or very early ’07.

    So I called into them, just before the whole thing went South, and, like the guy on the bus, I didn’t know what a tracker mortgage was, but they offered me one, as well as the (declined by me) chance to buy another investment property, or take an ‘oul holiday.

    Happily I took it, and even happier, they took on board a ridiculously high valuation of my family home, giving me a loan to value that bore no relation to reality. I still have that-and am gladdened by the fact that those on variable rates are getting a bite of the cherry-I could still be there myself but by chance.

    16
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    Mute Conor Heffernan
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    Nov 10th 2011, 8:42 PM

    if every aib account holder withdrew their deposits and moved them elsewhere, they’d get a rude awakening!

    44
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    Mute David Cullen
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    Nov 10th 2011, 9:11 PM

    The Dutch did this a fews years ago over bonuses to top staff. They gave them back More power to the people

    22
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    Mute Stephen Watson
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    Nov 10th 2011, 8:45 PM

    They didn’t rise rates in the first place like all the other wanks. People should do some research before judging.

    37
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    Mute Paddy O'Reilly
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    Nov 10th 2011, 9:30 PM

    People are just looking for money for nothing, now they are getting a better rate than before the ECB increases.
    The ESB is state owned but does not entitle people to free electricity, why should it be different with the banks.

    25
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    Mute Derek Turner
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    Nov 10th 2011, 8:42 PM

    Still doesnt stop them giving there staff a pay rise

    24
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    Mute cyberbams
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    Nov 10th 2011, 11:13 PM

    I think it was quite reasonable that if AIB didn’t pass on the recent rises, they should not have to pass on the cut. This turn around seems totally illogical to me. Nice for those affected & good luck to them but nevertheless quite daft!

    23
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    Mute Eoin Faz
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    Nov 10th 2011, 9:32 PM

    Wow great, lucky us – taxpayer to pay back reckless mortgage holders loans

    20
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    Mute Eoin Faz
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    Nov 10th 2011, 9:54 PM

    This is a direct transfer of cash from depositors to mortgage holders

    19
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    Mute Rommel Burke
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    Nov 10th 2011, 11:12 PM

    Is there anything stopping the banks from raising their rates in say a months time, irrespective of any change in the ECB rate? It never seems to stop PTSB as far as i can see.

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    Mute Frank Gallen
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    Nov 10th 2011, 10:53 PM

    Great stuff, with govt interference like this how do they hope to get private investment in order to get the NPRF’s investment in AIB back? Very short sighted decision, especially given AIB never passed on the last two increases.

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    Mute willy pearse
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    Nov 10th 2011, 10:03 PM

    You couldn’t make this stuff up

    11
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    Mute Niamh Byrne
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    Nov 10th 2011, 11:25 PM

    Yeah but if you raise interest rates it pushes more people into the cannot pay bracket and so we end up paying anyway, at least this makes repayments more affordable.

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    Mute Eoin Faz
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    Nov 11th 2011, 1:17 AM

    More likely it pushes them to restructure or sell. Banks should not be in the business of giving away money.

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    Mute Oran Drumgoole
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    Nov 11th 2011, 2:45 AM

    Why does it feel wrong that banks are passing on a saving to customers ?

    Oh no, wait a second ……

    News flash – Banks claim PR error and state that it should of read raise rates by 0.25%. The error is set to cost taxpayers a Further 10billion for some reason but banks have decided the double the rate increase to 0.5% because a senior exec was afraid they mightn’t be able to fund the regular replacement of the gold chairs that they use while at their weekly meetings in their ivory tower in the Bahamas.

    Instead of posting the new rates in papers banks have simply setup a very easy system in every branch to accommodate these new costs. All customers of the branches should empty their pockets into barrels that are marked “slush funds”. An Taoiseach should simply sign a blank cheque (as they might need more the 10bil, you never know) and make it payable to cash or C#^?s , either way the ecb will know who it’s for!

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