When a loved one passes away, one would think that taking care of taxes, paying debts and administering assets would be fairly simple and straightforward. That may be true in some New Jersey probate cases, but there are those where estate litigation is an issue which makes the administration process seem to last forever. The battle over Prince’s estate is a good example of just how taxing and time-consuming estate litigation and administration can be.
The famed singer died at his home three years ago. He left behind an estate valued at roughly $200 million, but without a will, it took time to determine who were to be the beneficiaries of his estate. Eventually, a judge declared his six siblings the beneficiaries.
Three years into the probate process, it is unclear how much longer it will take to close out Prince’s estate. Currently, his heirs are in the process of fighting over the administrator’s actions. They claim that the court-assigned administrator has taken $45 million from the estate to cover administrative expenses. As there is no saying how much longer it will take to finalize deals in the works and take care of tax obligations, millions more will likely be spent. An estate planning attorney in another state believes that it will be at least 10 years before this matter comes to a close, which means little could be left by the time the beneficiaries actually receive anything.
There is no denying that estate litigation can drag out the administration process. The Prince estate case is on the extreme side of things. Few people will find themselves still working to close out a loved one’s estate in the state of New Jersey two or more years after that individual’s passing. Still, some will find that the process takes far longer than they expected. With the right help in one’s corner, tackling estate litigation and finalizing the administration process can be done in a timely manner.
