US Judge Names Heirs To Prince's Estate After Year-long Case

More than a year after the untimely death of music icon Prince and a protracted court battle for rights to the claim, a Minnesota judge has ruled that his six siblings are the heirs to his estate.

As Vanity Fair reports, judge Kevin Eide made the decision in favour of Prince's sister, Tyka Nelson, and five half-siblings following a year-long process that, at one stage, saw up to 29 would-be heirs vying for a share of the singer and multi-instrumentalist's $US200 million (about $269 million) fortune.

In order to determine which claims were legitimate, Eide ordered genetic testing for Tyka and fellow siblings in order to strengthen their case. Eide admitted at the time that their relationship to Prince was not in dispute but, given the rash of fraudulent claims that emerged following Prince's death in April 2016, that it would help determine who should be entitled to the estate.

Prince did not leave a will before he passed, while Vanity Fair (via Billboard) explains that, in January this year, Comerica Bank & Trust was appointed by Judge Eide to serve as corporate permanent administrator for the estate in order to quell disquiet among the siblings over who should serve as executor of the state, a decision they unanimously accepted.

More recently, the estate has been in the headlines for successfully blocking the release of a six-track EP of unheard tracks titled Deliverance, which had been announced by producer George Ian Boxill before a judge agreed that he did not have the right to distribute the songs.