MINNEAPOLIS _ Paisley Park still isn't for sale. But several other properties that belonged to Prince _ including the late musician's villa in the Caribbean _ soon will be.
In an order Thursday, Carver County District Court Judge Kevin Eide gave approval to Bremer Trust, the special administrator managing Prince's estate, to sell off seven of the megastar's properties. Six are located in Chanhassen, near Paisley Park, and one is in Turks and Caicos, just north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Together, the Chanhassen properties are worth about $2 million. The value of the Turks and Caicos property, estimated to be in the millions, has not been made public.
Prince died April 21 of an accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. At the time of his death, he apparently did not have a will.
His estate, the subject of an ongoing probate case, has been valued between $100 million and $300 million.
Representatives from Bremer Trust have been working in recent months to maximize the estate's value, hoping to collect enough money for a multimillion-dollar tax bill due in January.
When Bremer last week requested permission to sell 16 of Prince's properties, it caused alarm that Paisley Park would be sold. But the special administrator was quick to offer assurances that Prince's home and recording studio would not be put on the market.
According to Thursday's order by Eide, Bremer may eventually be allowed to sell an additional eight parcels that Prince owned.
The most valuable includes 156 undeveloped acres near Lake Ann in Chanhassen, valued at nearly $14 million.
