Five people claiming to be half-siblings of the late musician Prince are not actually related to him and are not eligible to get a cut of his multimillion dollar fortune, a Minnesota Court of Appeals judge ruled Tuesday.
Darcell Gresham Johnston, Loya Janel Wilson, Loyal James Gresham III, Orrine Gresham said they were related to Prince through Loyal James Gresham Jr., who they claimed was Prince's father. Venita Jackson Leverette made the same claim, but said another man, Alfred Jackson, was Prince's father.
In fact, neither man was Prince's father. After Prince's death, Bremer Trust, the special administrator responsible for shepherding his estate, determined that John Lewis Nelson was his "genetic father" under Minnesota law. A district court judge upheld that decision, finding the Minnesota Parentage Act governed the estate in cases where the decedent had no will.
Prince died April 21, 2016, of an accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. No will has been found. Since his death, dozens of people have filed claims to the estate.
The Greshams and Leverette separately appealed the district court decision, and the court consolidated their appeals.
The appellate ruling reaffirms the list of people who stand to inherit Prince's estate, which has been estimated between $100 million and $300 million before taxes. They are Prince's sister, Tyka Nelson, and his half-siblings John Nelson, Sharon Nelson, Norrine Nelson, Omarr Baker and Alfred Jackson.
Emma Nelson • 612-673-4509
