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A handwritten document signed by singer Aretha Franklin and found in a couch months after her death is a valid will in Michigan, a jury ruled Tuesday, ending a longtime dispute between Franklin’s children, the Associated Press reported.
It initially appeared that the Queen of Soul did not leave a will for her estimated $80 million estate after the singer died of pancreatic cancer on Aug. 16, 2018. Then, a will dated 2010 was discovered by her niece inside a locked cabinet in the singer’s home in suburban Detroit.
The dispute over the singer’s estate began after a second handwritten document dated 2014 was found in the cushions of the singer’s couch shortly after the first will was found in 2019, the AP reported. The will found in the couch was notarized and was repeatedly signed by Franklin, according to the AP.
Franklin, who was unwed when she died at age 76, left behind four sons — Clarence Franklin, Edward Franklin, Kecalf Franklin and Ted White Jr. Clarence Franklin, the eldest, has special needs and is represented by a legal guardian.
Aretha Franklin died without a will, leaving her estate’s future uncertain
The Tuesday ruling favored Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin, whose lawyers had argued that the handwritten documents dated 2014 should override the 2010 will. Their brother White Jr., who played guitar during his mother’s performances, maintained that the 2010 will, found under lock and key, should precede papers found in a couch.
“With all the time I spent working with her administratively … every other document that she ever signed was something that was done conventionally and legally” and with assistance from a lawyer, White Jr., 60, told the jury on Monday.
But his brother Kecalf Franklin, 53, disagreed with him in court.
Kecalf Franklin responded to questions about where his mother often read mail and signed documents by saying, “on the couch.”
Asked by his attorney where Aretha Franklin often read mail, made important phone calls, signed documents and even slept, Kecalf Franklin repeatedly said, “on the couch.”
Both documents were not formally typed and contained passages that were at times difficult to decipher. They also both appear to indicate that the four sons of the singer known for hits like “Respect” and “Say a Little Prayer” would share income from her music and copyrights, the AP reported.
Enlarged versions of the 2014 document that were presented to the jury show White Jr.’s name crossed out as the executor of the estate, and with his brother Kecalf Franklin appointed for the role, the AP reported. According to the 2014 will, Kecalf Franklin and grandchildren would receive his mother’s primary home in Bloomfield Hills, which at the time of her death was valued at more than $1 million.
Attorneys for Kecalf Franklin, Edward Franklin and Ted White II did not immediately respond to messages from The Washington Post on Tuesday.
Travis M. Andrews contributed to this report.
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Source link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/07/11/aretha-franklin-will-dispute/