“Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin has died at the age of 76. Here’s a look back at her iconic life and career.
A handwritten will found under Aretha Franklin’s sofa cushion after her death is valid, replacing an earlier one locked in a cupboard, a jury ruled Tuesday.
Her son Ted White II has argued that the 2010 will, which was locked away and notarized, should take precedence over the 2014 will found on her couch, as it was drafted in a more traditional way.
“For all the time I spent working with her administratively … every other document she ever signed was something that was done conventionally and legally,” he told the jury through his attorney.
The eventual will was found after the “Respect” singer’s niece, Sabrina Owens, searched her home in suburban Detroit for documents after her death in 2018 without a formal will.
ARETHA FRANKLIN’S SONS FIGHT FOR THE DECEASED SINGER’S ESTATE
Aretha Frankin’s two wills have created a rift within her family. (Paul Natkin/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“You can take your will and leave it on the kitchen counter. It’s still your will,” said attorney Charles McKelvie, representing Franklin’s sons Kecalf and Edward Franklin, in his closing arguments.
Kecalf and Edward had argued that the 2014 will should overrule the 2010 will.
“It says, ‘This is my will,'” attorney Craig Smith added to the 2014 document. “She speaks from the grave, folks.”
JERRY LEE LEWIS ESTATE BATTLE: LATE ROCK LEGEND’S MISSISSIPPI RANCH FEUD LEAVES FAMILY IN LEGAL AMBIGUATION
Kecalf also repeatedly said in court that his mother often did important business on her couch, arguing that the pillows were not an unusual place to keep the will.
In both wills, Franklin says her four sons would share the income from her music and her copyrights. But in the 2014 version, Kecalf Franklin was named as executor, and not White as in the 2010 version.
Kecalf and his grandchildren will also inherit more than $1.1. House of millions in the 2014 version.
Another provision in their 2010 will, which said that Kecalf, 53, and Edward, 64, “must take business courses and earn a certificate or degree” to benefit from their estate, was dropped from the 2014 will.
Aretha Franklin’s 2014 will found on her couch was found valid by a jury. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File/AP Newsroom)
Owens explained how she found the 2014 will while managing Franklin’s estate immediately after her death.
“She would use the kitchen and living room — that’s it,” said Owens, who was not in court this week but whose testimony was read from a previous interview. “So when I got to the sofa, I lifted the cushion on the far right and there were three notebooks.”
The jury returned its verdict after less than an hour of deliberation at the trial, which began Monday.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS
“I’m very, very happy,” Kecalf said after the verdict was announced. “I just wanted my mother’s wishes to be granted. We just want to take a deep breath now. It’s been a long five years for my family, my children.”
White’s attorney Ted Olson said: “We were here to see what the jury would decide. We will live with it.”
The court battle has divided Franklin’s sons. Once this week, Smith claimed that White “wants to disinherit both of his brothers. Teddy wants everything.”
Aretha Franklin died in 2018 at the age of 76. (Jack Robinson/Getty Images / Getty Images)
When later asked about a possible rift between him and White, Kecalf said, “I love my brother with all my heart.”
Franklin’s fourth son, Clarence, who lives in an assisted living center, did not attend the trial.
There will still be debate as to whether some provisions of the 2010 will should be fulfilled and whether Kecalf could become executor. Judge Jennifer Callaghan urged all sides to file briefs and attend a status conference next week.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO by CLICK HERE
The latest public accounts filed in March showed the estate had income of $3.9 million and expenses of a similar amount for the trailing 12-month period, including more than $900,000 in attorney fees for various companies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.