“Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin died at the age of 76. Here’s a look back at her iconic life and career.
Four properties that Aretha Franklin owned at the time of her death will be divided among her four sons, months after a jury ruled that a 2014 will written by Aretha Franklin and found among her couch cushions supersedes a handwritten 2010 will found in was locked in a cupboard.
The judge overseeing Franklin’s estate says she is following the wishes of Franklin’s 2014 will and has allocated properties to the late star’s sons.
The will was found after the “Respect” singer’s niece, Sabrina Owens, searched her suburban Detroit home for documents after Franklin died of pancreatic cancer in 2018 without a formal will.
Franklin’s son, Kecalf Franklin, is given the property where the wills were found. In 2018, it was valued at $1.1 million, but the value has increased. Her son Edward Franklin received another property from the 2014 will, and Ted White II, whom she shared with music manager Ted White, received a property that was sold by her estate for $300,000.
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Aretha Franklin died in 2018 without a formal will. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“Teddy is demanding the proceeds of the sale,” Charles McKelvie, an attorney for Kecalf Franklin, said of the estate bequeathed to White, which was sold before the will was found. White had approved the 2010 will.
Kecalf and Edward had argued that the 2014 will should take precedence over the 2010 will.
A fourth property worth more than $1 million is likely to be sold and the profits divided among her four sons, including Clarence Franklin, who lives in an assisted living center, after a judge ruled that the wills did not make it clear which son should inherit her.
Aretha Franklin with her ex-husband Glynn Turman and their son Kecalf in 1979. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“This was significant progress. We have narrowed down the remaining issues,” McKelvie added.
The discovery of the two handwritten wills months after her death led to a dispute among the sons over what their mother wanted to do with their real estate and other assets.
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In both wills, Franklin says her four sons would share the income from her music and copyrights. But in the 2014 version, Kecalf Franklin was named executor. White was named executor in the 2010 version.
Edward Franklin sings at Aretha Franklin’s funeral in 2018. (Scott Olson/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Another provision in their 2010 will, which stated that Kecalf, 53, and Edward, 64, must “take business courses and obtain a certificate or degree” to benefit from their estate, was removed from the 2014 will.
The 2014 will was difficult to read at times and contained scribbles and a smiley face in her signature.
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“She would use the kitchen and the living room — that was it,” Owens previously testified about how she found the 2014 will. “So when I got to the sofa, I picked up the cushion on the far right and there were three notebooks.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.