Mike MilliganFounder and CEO, 1.oak Financial · Founder and CEO, 1.oak Financial

Bonnie Tyler & the 75 Summers Rule — Prince, Aretha, MJ Lessons

10 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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In this excerpt, Mike Milligan reflects on the death of Prince in 2016, emphasizing that the iconic musician left no will or written estate plan. He outlines how Prince's $156 million estate entered a six‑year probate battle involving legal fees, tax disputes, IRS valuation challenges, and conflicts among six siblings and half‑siblings. The heirs only received their distribution in August 2022, more than six years after his death. Milligan uses this story to illustrate Lesson 1: without a personal estate plan, the state will impose one, often to the detriment of the intended beneficiaries.

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Prince. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life. He wrote that in 1984. He was 25 years old. 32 years later, on April 21st, 2016, he was gone at the age of 57. No will, no written— nothing written down. His $156 million estate went into probate for 6 years. Legal fees, tax fights, IRS valuation battles, 6 siblings and half-siblings fighting each other. His heirs didn't receive a distribution until August of 2022, more than 6 years after he died. Lesson 1 today, if there's no plan, the state writes one for you and you will not like it.