HEIRS OF PRINCE WANT COMERICA REMOVED AS ESTATE ADMINISTRATOR
As California fans of Prince continue to mourn his death, his heirs have petitioned a court to reduce Comerica Bank & Trust's role as estate administrator. The late singer and songwriter's siblings claim in their legal filings that Comerica has collected $10 million in fees from the estate while spending $45 million on probate expenses. Additionally, the estate still owes $31 million in federal and state estate taxes. As time passes, interest increases the tax bill.
The heirs want to assume greater control of the estate and end Comerica's future involvement in the estate. Disagreements between the heirs and administrator have been ongoing as the heirs find fault with the administrator's inventory of the late artist's assets and cash flow projections.
In response, representatives from Comerica asked the court to deny the petition. In their view, the removal of the bank at this point would interfere with current efforts to pay the tax bills. The administrator recognized the heirs' frustration but said that they had no evidence to support their claims against Comerica. In the three years since Prince's death, the administrator said that the institution had fulfilled numerous requests from the heirs, including changing a television commercial and approving a proposed concert at Paisley Park.
A large and complex estate with many assets sometimes requires years to finalize. A person who needs advice about how to approach a probate court could reach out to an attorney. An estate attorney may guide the person through issues about debts, distributions and outstanding taxes. An attorney may also be able to prepare the legal and tax filings necessary for estate administration and probate.
Source: The Blast, "Prince's Family Fighting to Limit Administrators' Control Over Late Singer's Estate, Claim Millions Have Gone to Waste", Ryan Naumann, April 16, 2019
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