Prince’s Family Believes Estate Will Go Bankrupt Over Bank’s Mishandling Of Finances

Prince’s half-sister, Sharon Nelson, has accused Comerica Bank & Trust, the administration that is managing Prince’s estate, of mishandling the late artist’s finances, Billboard reports.

As a result of a longstanding legal battle with Comerica, Prince’s estate has lost millions due to the family having to file thousands of court documents. Nelson believes that if the dispute does not come to an end soon, Prince’s estate will go bankrupt. “Prince’s estate will be bankrupt by the end of the year,” Nelson said. “Prince is not resting in peace while this is going on. He’s very upset what these people have done to his estate. It’s really sad.”

Following the 2016 death of singer-songwriter, the singer’s full sister Tyka Nelson, his half brothers Omarr Baker, Alfred Jackson, John R. Nelson and his half-sisters Sharon and Norrine Nelson – became sole heirs of the estate, which is said be to worth between $100 million and $300 million. According to Vibe, the family was forced to hire their own legal team after 45 people claimed to be heirs of the singer’s estate.

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The legal dispute reportedly includes more than 2,700 court filings; some of the documents are motions, affidavits, memos, and depositions that support Nelson and her family’s complaint about Comerica’s representation. Back in October 2017, Nelson and two others filed to permanently remove Comerica from the estate after the two parties allegedly got into a verbal confrontation during a meeting. Prince’s estate accused the bank of verbally abusing and threatening Nelson. Nearly two months later, a judge denied the family’s request to remove Comerica, ruling that it would not be in the best interest of the estate.

Comerica has denied all allegations. Court filings from bank officials state the estate will not receive any money until a tax bill from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is taken care of. However, Prince died with $97 million in cash and $30 million to $40 million in real estate holdings. Comerica released a statement to Billboard regarding Nelson’s claims.

“The estate of Prince Rogers Nelson is a court-supervised estate, which places strict reporting and judicial oversight requirements on Comerica as the Personal Representative,” the statement read. “Comerica has complied with all legal and ethical requirements during its administration of the estate. Comerica’s fees and those of the estate’s attorneys are filed with and approved by the Court every four months with complete transparency to the heirs. The attorneys’ fees paid by the estate have been court-approved as reasonable and necessary for the benefit of the estate.”

Prince’s family is requesting a judge to limit the abilities of the Comerica as the estate’s personal representative. A hearing is scheduled for May 20.