Judge Orders Genetic Testing For Prince's Siblings Amid Rash Of Heir Claim Dismissals

A Minnesotan judge has ordered that six people with close familial ties to Prince, including four identified as either a sibling or half-sibling, undergo genetic testing following a spate of false claims to the late icon's multi-million-dollar estate.

As the ABC reports, Carver County Judge Kevin Eide made the ruling in the wake of dismissing 29 other would-be heirs hoping to claim a share of Prince's estimated $500 million estate, including people claiming to be children, spouses, as well as five men claiming to be his father.

Prince died of an accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl on 21 April after being found unresponsive in an elevator at Paisley Park Studios; he apparently did not leave a will, leaving to almost immediate speculation about the fate of his estate following his death.

According to Judge Eide, the relationship to Prince of four of the six — Prince's sister, Tyka Nelson, and half-siblings John Nelson, Norrine Nelson and Sharon Nelson — is not in dispute but ordered them to undergo the testing regardless to further strengthen their inheritance claims. 

Also set to be tested are a pair of women claiming to be a niece and grand-niece of Prince, whose assertions were deemed strong enough to warrant the tests.