Aretha Franklin
Three of Franklin’s four children dispute the validity of documents left by the late singer in 2010 and 2014
Tuesday 11 July 2023 at 10.33am BST
A jury is set to decide which of the two handwritten wills found at Aretha Franklin’s Detroit, Michigan home is the late musician’s valid last will, which her sons dispute.
One of these was found in a June 2010 closet that Ted White II, Franklin’s third son, claims is her true will and lists him as a co-executor. Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin, their second and fourth sons, say a will discovered in a spiral notebook under a pillow and dated March 2014 is in fact the primary will. In the latter case, Kecalf is the co-manager and would inherit his mother’s gated mansion valued at US$1.2million (£934,000).
Franklin, an extremely reticent woman, is said to have refused to write a formal will despite years of poor health. She died in August 2018 at the age of 76. Her fortune was to be divided equally between her sons until the discovery of the will nine months later.
Her net worth was estimated at $80 million at the time of her death, but was later reduced to just under $6 million based on more recent estimates and years of unpaid taxes.
A six-person jury at Oakland County Probate Court will hear three of Franklin’s four children: Franklin’s first son, Clarence Franklin, who has special needs and lives under guardianship in an assisted-living facility, is not involved in the case. A lawyer for his guardian told the BBC that whatever the outcome, Clarence would receive a percentage of the estate.
The purpose of the trial, which began Monday, was for the jury to determine whether the 2014 document was a valid will, according to Judge Jennifer Callaghan. Because they are handwritten and illegible, they would be illegal in other states, but Michigan law may accept them based on other criteria.
Recordings of three voicemail messages from Franklin released in the months before her death relating to another will she was preparing were excluded from the case.
{{#Ticker}}
{{top left}}
{{bottom left}}
{{top right}}
{{bottom right}}
{{#goalExceededMarkerPercentage}}{{/goalExceededMarkerPercentage}}{{/ticker}}
{{Headline}}
{{#paragraphs}}
{{.}}
{{/paragraphs}}{{highlightedText}}
{{#choiceCards}}{{/choiceCards}}We will contact you to remind you to contribute. Look out for a message in your inbox. If you have any questions about contributing, please contact us.