Legal bills for sorting out Prince’s estate have already hit almost $2 million.
The special administrator overseeing the affairs of the late singer – who died from an accidental overdose in April without leaving a will – is seeking permission from the courts to pay several law firms for work, including a huge $1.9 million for just one company, the Stinson Leonard Street firm.
And smaller amounts to various other lawyers add up to almost $100,000, with the figures submitted correct up until June 30.
The administrators, Bremer Trust, have also asked the court to approve their own fees, but those amounts were filed under seal, meaning they are not made available publicly.
Meanwhile, a judge has dismissed the claims of 29 people who said they were related to the ‘Gold’ hitmaker and as such entitled to a share of his estate.
Carver County Judge Kevin Eide has also ordered six people to undergo genetic testing, his four siblings or half-siblings, Tyka Nelson, Sharon Nelson, Norrine Nelson and John Nelson — plus a supposed niece and grand-niece, Brianna Nelson and Victoria Nelson.
The judge’s ruling has dismissed several unnamed people who had alleged the ‘1999’ singer was their biological father, as well as people who claimed Prince’s own father was someone other than the man listed in court records.
As well as the documents relating to legal costs, the administrators also submitted paperwork seeking to sell some of Prince’s homes this week.
The ‘Purple Rain’ hitmaker owned property in Beverly Hills, New York, his home state of Minnesota and possibly other areas before his death, and documents submitted to court state the estate will only accept offers for the properties that are at least 90% of fair market value.
The court has sealed the part of the request which states which properties they are hoping to sell.
Prince’s Minnesota estate alone is worth an estimated £30 million.