DakutiusMaximus said:

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Unsealed Prince divorce file shows luxe lifestyle, dispute over videos, jewels and photos

By ROCHELLE OLSON AND DAVID CHANEN , STAR TRIBUNE
January 13, 2017 - 12:58 PM

The unsealed file from Prince’s second divorce offers a glimpse into the late musician’s luxe lifestyle and the more routine spousal disputes over access to property, such as childhood photos, videos and jewelry.

While they were married, Manuela Testolini said she and Prince threw big parties after major awards shows like the Golden Globes, Oscars and the Grammys. For the events, Testolini would hire a $5,000-a-day stylist to do her hair and makeup. The couple would spend $50,000 per party on food, drinks and decor, the records showed. In 2004 alone, Prince earned $42 million.

“We had accounts at boutiques including Gucci, Versace and Valentino. We had accounts at Saks. There was never any restriction on (Prince’s) or my spending,” she said.

Divorce files are generally public, though judges often will agree to seal them if both parties to the case agree and no one else objects. The documents, made public after the Star Tribune moved to unseal the files following the star’s accidental death in April from the painkiller fentanyl, also revealed that in May 2005, Prince locked Testolini out of their home on Galpin Avenue in Chanhassen. He also cut off her credit cards, boxed up her stuff and stowed it in the vault in Paisley Park for “safe keeping,” according to an order signed by former Judge Tanja Manrique on March 16, 2010. Prince then tore down the house.

The couple’s divorce was granted in October 2007, but two years later, Testolini claimed Prince had not returned several personal items, including copies of videos he made based on songs he had written for her: “Gamillah” and “Another Girl.” He also had not returned jewelry, including a gold and diamond earring set from Tiffany and an antique gold and amethyst earring, necklace, bracelet set from the vintage store “The Way We Wore,” as well photographs, memorabilia and scrapbooks. In all, the items were valued at $185,000.

At that time, Prince was representing himself and didn’t respond to the court.

In her documents, Testolini said Prince claimed the videos had been deleted and he didn’t know the whereabouts of the items. She disputed that, saying Prince never destroyed every copy of a video and that if he did, “his actions were purely punitive.”

The unsealing of the divorce documents came amid the ongoing legal dispute over the legitimate heirs to Prince’s vast fortune. The megastar, who was found dead in an elevator at Paisley Park, had no will. Carver County District Judge Kevin Eide is overseeing the case. He has indicated that the surviving siblings, including Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson and five half-siblings, will likely claim at least part of a fortune estimated at somewhere between $100 million and $300 million before taxes.

Prince and Testolini, the musician’s second wife, met when she was a consultant for his charity, Love 4 One Another, according to the documents. They married on Christmas in 2001 when she was 25 and he was 43. She said they lived “an extravagant lifestyle” with each having their own personal assistant. They had a housekeeper and a personal chef preparing their dinners, the documents showed.

Testolini said she “routinely had massages, spa treatments, manicures, pedicures and facials.” She and Prince traveled frequently, renting homes for months at a time in California and Hawaii, flew private planes and spent up to $15,000 per night on hotel suites.

In 2004, Prince released his album “Musicology,” which sold more than 2 million copies in the United States. The Musicology tour was the top grossing U.S. Tour in 2004, bringing in $87.4 million, she wrote.

The Star Tribune moved to unseal the files after questioning whether they would shed light on why Prince was taking painkillers, any potential heirs, or the value of his estate at the time of the divorce. The files didn’t provide any insight into those issues.

The documents also don’t explain why Prince and Testolini divorced, although the couple did seek counseling from New York City-based elders of their shared Jehovah’s Witness faith. She has since remarried and had children with another man.

In recent months, Testolini fought the release of the divorce documents, claiming disclosure would put her and her family at risk.

The documents do not show financial details of the final divorce settlement. At one point in the filings, Testolini said she was not seeking permanent monthly support.

She did, however, receive a house in Toronto worth approximately $6 million and a Lexus automobile. During their split, she initially received $10,000 a month in support. Prince also transferred $3 million to an account, Gamillah Holdings Inc., which was opened with $1 million in December 2002 and over which she had control.

In court filings, Prince rejected Testolini’s claim that she needed $42,574 a month, which she said amounted to no more than 2 percent of his monthly earnings, to maintain a lifestyle that included attending the awards shows and hosting parties afterward.

“This is my normal life,” Prince’s response said. “By filing her (divorce) petition, (Testolini) severed her access to this lifestyle ... This is not a marital standard of living that can be recreated with money.”

The documents also include a transcript of a deposition Prince gave in May 2008 where he was questioned by Testolini’s lawyer. The portrait of the artist that emerges from the pages is similar to his public persona. He only grudgingly gives up insight or substantive answers. Many of his responses are some variation of, “I don’t know” or “I don’t recall.”

Does one have to pay the court fees to get the transcript of what all this was about?

morningsong said:

laurarichardson said:

morningsong said:

Does one have to pay the court fees to get the transcript of what all this was about?

-- The Olsen chick has screen shots on her Twitter of the e-mails. You have to be in the court house to access the whole file at least that is the talk on the Facebook pages.

Yeah, I read those snippets, enough to wet the appetite but not enough to satisfy. Well, not going to that courthouse anytime soon so I guess I'm SOL. I was guessing there probably is enough there in their full form to guess what went down.

morningsong said:

Does one have to pay the court fees to get the transcript of what all this was about?

If you want a copy you can call the Carver County Court Administrator and ask what you need to do procedurally 952-361-1420.

They can give you an estimated cost. Most likely they will want you to pay upfront.

They may also require a request in writing.

Most courts charge per page for all documents requested which could be costly if you want a full copy of the unsealed documents.

Nevermind:lol:

[Edited 1/16/17 18:43pm]

laurarichardson said:

ISaidLifeIsJustAGame said:

morningsong said:

Does one have to pay the court fees to get the transcript of what all this was about?

If you want a copy you can call the Carver County Court Administrator and ask what you need to do procedurally 952-361-1420.

They can give you an estimated cost. Most likely they will want you to pay upfront.

They may also require a request in writing.

Most courts charge per page for all documents requested which could be costly if you want a full copy of the unsealed documents.

Thanks. I might try it. But I doubt I'd be interested in more than a handful of pages if that many. But don't know until I try.

Lovejunky said:

1Sasha said:

To be honest with you, I wouldn't let Van within 10 feet of the estate. He is not qualified at this business level, and he most certainly is not a music industry lawyer with experience. Van is looking out for Van. Period.

i couldn't agreemore. they need an experienced and objective party running the estate, especially if tyka gets her wish to have 3 people with equal input. tyka and whomever else can speak for the prince side and leave the implementation to the "neutral" 3rd party. i heard nothing in his video that made him qualified to handle such a vast musical estate. if u could run the estate like u docommunity palnning then fine. but this is another beast entirely.

rogifan said:

1Sasha said:

LR, we'll agree to disagree on this. I have had to settle a multimillion dollar estate (of course, not as large as Prince's), and I went through something similar - estate planning was not done, and it took years to resolve. It didn't have to be that way. I don't agree with the people who say he didn't care what happened after he was gone. I think he would have wanted to see the groups he supported have some money, people (non-siblings) he truly loved have some money ... It's great to have the masters, but now what? Who will be helped?

1Sasha said:

LR, we'll agree to disagree on this. I have had to settle a multimillion dollar estate (of course, not as large as Prince's), and I went through something similar - estate planning was not done, and it took years to resolve. It didn't have to be that way. I don't agree with the people who say he didn't care what happened after he was gone. I think he would have wanted to see the groups he supported have some money, people (non-siblings) he truly loved have some money ... It's great to have the masters, but now what? Who will be helped?

I understand exactly where you are coming from, also Rogifans stance...

But in My Opinion, only someone with Profound Love and Respect for Prince the Man, is going to be able to do this thing right.

Prince himself was known to hire people with Lesser experience , if their Overall Vibe and Fit was right...

I agree to disagree....

Lovejunky said:

Rev said:

Van is a confirmed "9/11 truther" That's not politics ..that's crazy.

.

Being critical of the official line is crazy?

You must be a Hillarity voter.

'nuf said about that.

.

I gues they will dump McMillan unless they are blind.

1Sasha said:

laurarichardson said:

1Sasha said:

LR, we'll agree to disagree on this. I have had to settle a multimillion dollar estate (of course, not as large as Prince's), and I went through something similar - estate planning was not done, and it took years to resolve. It didn't have to be that way. I don't agree with the people who say he didn't care what happened after he was gone. I think he would have wanted to see the groups he supported have some money, people (non-siblings) he truly loved have some money ... It's great to have the masters, but now what? Who will be helped?

Once the appeals have been exhausted what will be the hold up. Taxes have to be paid but if he had just a will estate taxes would still have to be paid. A trust would have helped but MJ had a trust and the estate still got slammed with taxes. The truth of the matter is there is no reason charitable giving can't continue when things have been resolved. In addition, for all we know Prince may put some portion of his estate in a trust after all "Yes We Code" is still functioning and we never found out what the work product was from the divorce attorneys. Could have been money going to M2 charity as information was redacted and one line item for a liability on the inventory sheet is an asset that has been redacted.

Charitable giving is a good thing, noble, helpful, compassionate, and just the right thing to do.

.

(Someone correct me if I get this wrong, I’m going from memory.) Van Jones stated that he was willing to continue running P’s charities ‘for free’ thus proving proof on how committed he was to these causes. This sends up a real RED FLAG for me.

.

IMO…There is more to Van than meets the eye and it may not be good (crocodile tears and all where he talks about P’s charitable activity – most of which was already public information for years if you looked – google is a beautiful thing).

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Van’s offer to run these charities for free make me wonder about his true motivation. I have a feeling that Van’s motivation is nowhere close to what meets the eye and Van may have been taking quite a ‘commission’ from executing P’s charitable giving. So until we see Van’s full disclosure financial compensation agreements from any charity he is pushing, let’s reserve judgment.

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The reason for my skepticism - this past summer I discovered something very disturbing pertaining to a charity that I supported and donated money to for years! As it turns out, the charity’s ‘collectors’ receive 35% of all the money they personally collected off the TOP, and an additional 5% if they recruited a new donor at a certain dollar amount – That’s 40% off the top, before the expenses of field offices, paid personnel, Manhattan offices, etc. Before ONE cent goes to the people for whom the charity was set up to help lots of people are making lots of money.

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And at the risk of being perceived as totally insensitive to P’s charitable giving; objectively speaking (and perhaps legally speaking) all charitable contributions from P legally stopped on April 21 (to the best of our/my knowledge).

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On this board… many keep talking about trusts, as if they are the magic answer to every mystery … I don’t think they are as easy many think to move money in and out of, legally set up (registered with the county), or if they are easy to dissolve if you change your mind, a legal charity would have to be registered and approved by the IRS, tax returns filed, and probably way much more than I am aware of…. Lawyers here please elaborate.

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If yours or my relative passed leaving money, who the h*ll is Van (or anyone else) to tell anyone what they can and can’t do with their own money. Sheeesh, Van is in la la land.

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The estate for intents and purposes now / will soon belong to P’s siblings. Ownership of assets (including cash) will transfer to them who will take ownership with all the rights and privileges of ownership, including who /organizations to donate money to, when and how much. If each individual owner choses to not part with his/her assets - that is no one’s business, least of all Van Jones.

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Just because a charity’s mission statement is noble does not mean all the funds are allocated as intended. Maybe P discovered this, hence no allowance for Van’s charities…. Because Van (to my knowledge) is the only one advocating for continued charitable activity, however only with which the charities he, VAN, is involved. Van is even going so far as to insulate that P’s legacy is dependent upon this. The music is the legacy and Van has zero to do with that.

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Sorry to be so negative on Van, but IMO something is either very very wrong or much more transparency must come to light.

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Peace and respect to all.

I'm beginning to understand why Prince might not leave a will. Who can you just trust? Everybody looks suspect about something.

I am surprised there aren't people pushing to give his last girlfriends money, since he apparently used the same line - that he would take care of them forever - on a repeat basis. The dough goes to the non-excluded heirs. Prince once said at an awards show that those truly there for you are not on your payroll. Well, it seems everyone was on his payroll, except for his peers, and everyone wants to protect his or her interests.

Purplebflogirl said:

I believe I read somewhere that several of Prince's siblings live in properties he owns.. Are they also for sale? And Van to me, seems genuine..Perhaps he could work alongside several professionals to help ensure no " funny" business transpires? Does anyone know how close Prince was to his half siblings? [Edited 1/17/17 14:41pm]

that maybe true but genuine won't cut it in this situation. he seems underqualified for the position. jmo.

--

prince was not close to his older half sibs. he and tyka and omarr had gotten closer since their mom died. tyka and omarr are the sibs that live in prince owned porperties.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7655360/prince-estate-tax-bill-deadline

New article about that tax bill.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PRINCE_ESTATE_THINGS_TO_KNOW?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

The Associated Press is also reporting on the estate taxes, the first payment of which is due Saturday.

With him didn't have a will, I am still suprise he didnt leave his congregation with anything. I know Vanity left majority of her fortune to her church.

iciala397 said:

iciala397 said:

udo said:

Rev said:

Van is a confirmed "9/11 truther" That's not politics ..that's crazy.

.

Being critical of the official line is crazy?

You must be a Hillarity voter.

'nuf said about that.

.

I gues they will dump McMillan unless they are blind.

OMG!!! Then u must be a trumper? point being it shouldn't matter It doesn't much matter who we like or dont like its not about us fans on a forum...Its about things needing to get done as was said a 1000 times A will was not left so major decisions have to be made.If someone's willing to work for free why dog him.

destinyc1 said:

udo said:

.

Being critical of the official line is crazy?

You must be a Hillarity voter.

'nuf said about that.

.

I gues they will dump McMillan unless they are blind.

OMG!!! Then u must be a trumper? point being it shouldn't matter It doesn't much matter who we like or dont like its not about us fans on a forum...Its about things needing to get done as was said a 1000 times A will was not left so major decisions have to be made.If someone's willing to work for free why dog him.

I think Van Jones should definitely be considered, but I'd like to see 3 chosen. And no, McMillan is NOT one of those who should be chosen, he has proven himself as not to be trusted and it appears he puts himself above all else. What a disappointment. Nonetheless, he shouldn't be under consideration based on things that have been shown to the court.

The Judge has just signed an Order that there will be a hearing held on February 18, 2017 regarding the Petition of Phaedra...

I dont think we ever saw the Petition filed by Phaedra.

The Judge has Ordered the Special Administrator to provide documents within 5 days to Phaedra which effectively removed her as an officer, secretary, or manager of NPG Music Publishing, and

other companies.

This is interesting.