Aretha Franklin
The verdict is about a dispute over the validity of documents left by the deceased singer from 2010 and 2014, in which sons are played off against each other
Associated Press
Tuesday 11 July 2023 at 8:28pm BST
Two documents found in a closet and couch belonging to the late Aretha Franklin, which have caused divisions in her family since her death in 2018, have come under the spotlight.
The singer’s handwritten will, found on her couch after her death, was a valid Michigan will, a jury said Tuesday, a crucial twist in a dispute that pitted three of her four sons against one another.
It’s a victory for Franklin’s second eldest and youngest child – Edward and Kecalf – whose lawyers had argued that papers from 2014 should take precedence over a 2010 will that was left in a locked cupboard at the family’s home around the same time Queen of Soul was spotted in suburban Detroit.
Franklin’s eldest child, Clarence, lives with special needs in a Michigan assisted-living facility and remains uninvolved in the dispute. His guardian’s lawyer told the BBC that they have “reached an agreement whereby Clarence will receive a percentage of the estate regardless of the outcome of the will dispute.”
Aretha Franklin’s children are asking for their will in court
Aretha Franklin left no formal, typewritten will when she died five years ago at the age of 76 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. But both documents, with scrawls and hard-to-decipher passages, suddenly surfaced in 2019 when her niece, Sabrina Owens, was searching the home for papers.
Owens and Franklin’s third eldest child, Ted White II, was listed in the 2010 will as co-executors or personal representatives of the estate. Due to divisions within the family, Owens retired from representing her aunt’s estate in 2020.
In a letter filed with a Detroit court, Owens wrote, “Given my aunt’s love for family and her desire for privacy, she wouldn’t have wanted this for us, and it’s not what I want either.”
“I love my cousins, have no animosity towards them and wish them well.”
Franklin’s fortune, which was once worth $80 million at her death, has dropped to $6 million based on more recent estimates and unpaid taxes.
Franklin’s executors have paid bills, settled millions of dollars in back taxes, and raked in income from music licenses and other intellectual property. However, the will dispute is an unresolved matter.
There are differences between the 2010 and 2014 versions, although both suggest that Franklin’s four sons would share earnings from music and copyrights.
But according to the 2014 will, Kecalf Franklin and his grandchildren would get his mother’s main home in Bloomfield Hills, which was valued at $1.1 million when she died but is worth a lot more today.
The Older Testament states that Kecalf, 53, and Edward Franklin, 64, “must take business courses and earn a certificate or degree” to benefit from the estate. This provision is not included in the 2014 version.
Ted White II, who played guitar with Aretha Franklin, testified against the 2014 will, saying his mother would normally have important documents dealt with “conventionally and legally” and with the assistance of a lawyer.
Don Wilson, an entertainment rights attorney who represented Franklin for nearly 30 years, told NBC he insists that she have a will and a trust fund as part of her estate planning.
“But she was a very private person and I don’t think she wanted to share that information with anyone else, like a lawyer. I think that’s why for a long time she didn’t go to anyone’s office to do any formal planning, instead she wrote it down herself,” he said.
Franklin was a global star for decades, best known for hits like “Think”, “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Respect”.
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