From the Desk of Lauran Corcoran
Assets more valuable than Diamonds and Pearls
At the end of June, Prince’s family members, along with their many lawyers, returned to court. Since the last hearing, there has been a flurry of filings from purported heirs to Prince’s estate. The Judge reversed an earlier ruling that sealed the filings of all the purported heirs. Now only filings by people claiming to be the children of Prince will remain sealed but filings by siblings and distant relatives will be made public.
Additionally, there has been a lot of speculation on what Prince would have wanted regarding the treatment of his music and legacy, arguably his most valuable assets. An interesting article in the Minnesota Star Tribune discusses how much Prince distrusted and disliked attorneys for the main reason that those of us in suits are sharks who wouldn’t understand his art. One of the stories in the article is from Owen Husney, Prince’s first manager, who recounts meeting an associate of a prominent LA entrainment firm. This particular associate explained that Prince and the firm parted ways after several months because Prince refused to consider any estate planning.
Prince’s dislike of the legal profession is not uncommon. It is also not uncommon for a dislike of attorneys to hinder one’s ability to see attorneys for at least the necessary evil to accomplish certain goals. Now Prince’s music and legacy will be left in the hands of those very people he distrusted, because he did not or could not see the value of an estate plan.