Prince is dead, but his estate is "a dynamic, wide-ranging business enterprise," a lawyer for the trust overseeing his assets declared at a court hearing in Minnesota Wednesday. The judge granted the Bremer Trust permission to hire entertainment and "monetization" experts to look at ways to keep money rolling in from the late singer's estate, including the possibility of turning his Paisley Park complex into a Graceland-style tourist attraction, NBC News reports. The trust sought permission to hire experts to "provide advice and counsel on how to manage public tours of the grounds" of the 55,000-square-foot recording and residential complex in suburban Minneapolis, where Prince was found dead in an elevator on April 21.
The Bremer Trust attorney warned that since Prince apparently died without a will, his estate, thought to be worth up to $300 million, could be very quickly swallowed by state and federal taxes unless new business arrangements are made, Billboard reports. Under an order issued earlier this week, potential heirs to the estate need to file their claims by Friday. The trust will send the claimants—including Colorado inmate Carlin Williams, who says he's Prince's son and sole heir—a questionnaire and may conduct DNA tests. Other claimants include Prince's sister, six half-siblings, a possible niece and grand-niece, and, as of Monday, a South Carolina man who claims to be Prince's adopted son, reports NBC. Some 20 lawyers representing nine of the parties were present at Wednesday's hearing. (More Prince stories.)