The special administrator for Prince's tangled estate is looking into the possibility of opening up Paisley Park for public tours, according to court documents filed by a self-described heir who doesn't want it to happen.
It's another twist in the twisty saga of Prince's estate, believed to be worth many millions, as administrators and potential heirs and their army of lawyers fill up boxes with their motions and claims and correspondence arguing over various issues.
Lately some of the interested parties have been arguing over whether to hire experts to manage and "monetize" Prince's real estate and intellectual property while the process of determining who is an eligible heir proceeds.
Carlin Q. Williams, the federal prison inmate who claims he is the sole heir because he's the product of a one-night stand Prince had with his mother, filed a document Wednesday with the probate court in Carver County, Minn., suggesting that some kind of plan for tours is in the works.
Bremer Trust, the special administrator for Prince's estate (because no will has been found, although Bremer is still looking), sought approval from Judge Kevin Eide to hire entertainment-industry consultants and property experts to advise on managing the estate.
"The Special Administrator also seeks permission to employ experts...to assist in the development and/or commencement of a new business involving...Paisley Park in order to provide advice and counsel on how to manage public tours of the grounds, facilities and buildings located at Paisley Park," Williams says in the document.
Williams, 39, objected to the hiring of any consultants as "premature" and exceeding the authority of the special administrator. Williams' position, as stated in his objection documents, is that nothing significant should happen with the estate management until after DNA testing determines who is and is not an heir. And he wants the DNA testing to take place as soon as possible.
Williams believes he is Prince's only son and thus the sole heir, and that he should have some say in managing Prince's estate. Williams is serving seven-year prison sentence on a weapons conviction in a federal prison in Colorado.
However, after a hearing Tuesday, Eide ruled for Bremer to proceed with negotiations to hire expert consultants as needed. Although Bremer is a temporary administrator, Eide said it's likely the bank will be needed to manage the estate throughout the proceedings, which could be lengthy.
"The Court intends for the Special Administrator to take all prudent steps to monetize the Estate's intellectual property, and to raise funds necessary for the administration of the Estate and for the payment of estate taxes," Eide said in the ruling.
(One consequence of the lack of a will is that estate taxes will be steep: The federal tax rate on estates worth over $5.4 million is 40%; Minnesota's estate tax is 16% for estates over $1.6 million)
Meanwhile, even a suggestion that Paisley Park might one day be open to the public is a positive sign to the many Prince fans who long for it.
Shortly after Prince died on April 21, his brother-in-law, Maurice Phillips, who is married to his sister, Tyka Nelson, said "the family" would like to see Paisley Park turned into a museum "for the fans."
"We will turn Paisley Park into a museum in Prince’s memory. ... He was all about the fans," Phillips said.
But turning Prince's sprawling compound of home and studio into a public museum along the lines of, say, Elvis Presley's Graceland in Memphis, is not such an easy task, according to experts, which may be a reason why Bremer is seeking expert advice.
Lawyers for Bremer, for Williams and for Tyka Nelson did not return emails seeking comment.
