Douglas Peterson, an attorney for Bremer Trust, the wealth management firm appointed to manage Prince's estate, told Carver County District Judge Kevin W. Eide that Uncle Sam and the state would be due taxes equivalent to half of the cash value of the estate, which has been estimated by various experts at as much as $300 million. “The government is not going to wait,” he warned. And the sooner the better, Peterson said. “We cannot make business decisions by having what is now 20 lawyers and nine parties sitting at the table,” Peterson said. But Patrick Cousins, a lawyer representing Carlin Williams, who's claimed from his Colorado prison cell that he's Prince's secret son, urged Eide to order Bremer Trust to "hold down and stand down" on any arrangements until the question of Prince's heir or heirs is settled. Eide gave the lawyers until noon Wednesday to suggest language for a compromise and said he will decide by 9 a.m. Thursday whether Bremer should have the broad contracting authority it’s seeking to hire industry specialists.
– Rumors of Prince's money troubles continue: Lawyers involved in the probate battle over the musician's estate say taxes due to the state and the IRS could slash the worth of his estate in half, NBC News reports. Experts have estimated the cash value of Prince's estate at $300 million, but if he died without that much money on hand, things will have to get sold in order to pay the taxes that are due by Jan. 21. The Minneapolis Star Tribune notes that the case underscores "the complexity and pressures involved in a fortune built mainly on intangible intellectual property." What could end up getting sold off? Any unreleased songs in Prince's vault, rights to his music and his image, digital streaming revenue, and possibly his home, guitars, and other tangible items. The lawyers for the company overseeing Prince's estate urged a judge Tuesday to make quick decisions in the fight over who is the rightful heir (nine people, including several relatives and this guy, have filed formal claims), because if the tax deadline is missed, the government "will have a fire sale, and that is not in the best interests of anyone." Prince apparently died without a will.