January 5, 2021

Controversy was generated when pop singer Prince passed away without a will or any other estate plan in place. Calculations from the IRS indicated that executors of the estate undervalued the overall assets inside by approximately 50% or $80 million.

According to the IRS, Prince’s total estate is worth over $163 million. The valuation that had previously been submitted by Comerica Bank and Trust, the administrator of the estate, was just over $82 million. According to court documents, the major discrepancy here relates to the recording interests and music publishing of Prince.

This generates a federal tax liability of over $32 million, which would roughly double the tax bill associated with the previous valuation. This would also include a $6.4 million penalty on the estate if it can be shown that there was indeed a substantial undervaluation of the assets.

The six sibling heirs of Prince have been caught up in this controversy since the pop singer passed away unexpectedly in April 2016. This has led to one of the most complicated and expensive probate estates in Minnesota. You can avoid this mistake by having a will and other basic estate planning documents in place well in advance of your passing