Almost five years have passed since Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, owner of one of the most powerful voices and one of the most talented and viewed careers on earth, passed away in Detroit, Michigan at the age of 76. A five-year absence but also doubts about her legacy: although the singer has been a recognized artist since her youth and amassed a fortune of $80 million (approx. 72 million euros), she has never formalized the distribution of this legacy. Not that he didn’t write a will, but that he actually didn’t formalize it. Because after his death up to three different legacies were found. Now, after five years of litigation and two days of hearings, in less than an hour of deliberation, the courts have recognized that the 2014 document, found under the cushions of a sofa and measuring four pages, is the valid one. and that’s why they reject another one from 2010.
Franklin had four children from (at least) three different relationships. After his death, and of course over the money, they were at odds. It is the Second and Fourth, Edward (66 years old) and Kecalf (53) who emerge victorious from this battle and have struggled to present this will as correct. This 2014 letter was discovered in a spiral notebook under some pillows at his home outside of Detroit. None of them gave details of their rights or their objects.
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Both the 2010 document – actually two found in a locked cupboard – and the 2014 document are unofficial. They are handwritten, with etchings, marginal notes and sometimes incomprehensible words. The singer passed away in 2018, and almost a year later, these papers suddenly and almost simultaneously surfaced, allegedly from one of her nephews who was looking for records at her home. None were signed by a witness or third party. Much less from a notary.
There are differences in the two versions of the writings, although his four children would inherit his money and the rights he gained thanks to music, however, they did not agree and two of them, Edward and Kecalf, decided to go to court to challenge them.
Page from one of the wills found in Aretha Franklin’s home. Ed White (AP)
The 2010 will, the AP reported, required Kecalf and Edward to “take business classes and get a certificate or degree” to access the inheritance, which the 2014 will didn’t say that his three sons would be equally entitled to the proceeds from the royalties generated by their music. His daughter Clarence suffers from mental illness and is under guardianship; Her three brothers have unanimously decided to support her financially.
What’s more, Kecalf and his children especially benefited from the last wills of 2014: They would inherit Franklin’s mansion in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, which is considered one of the wealthiest cities in the entire United States. When she died, the house was worth just over a million dollars, but in those five years its value has increased tremendously. Kecalf also received his cars: two Cadillacs, a Mercedes and a Thunderbird convertible.
His third son, Ted, a guitarist, affirmed at one of the moments of the trial – when there was coldness between the brothers – that he did not trust this will because his mother would have carried out such a procedure “in a legal and conventional manner”. along with a lawyer. He also relied on the 2010 book because it was more detailed and signed by her on all pages.
Franklin had three children, the two eldest when he was just 12 and 14 years old. Clarence is the oldest (now 68) and Edward is the second. Both have had the surname Franklin since birth, but it is not known who their father or father is. They were raised by Aretha Franklin’s mother while she was trying to get her career off the ground. The third of his children is Ted White II, aged 59, the result of his first marriage to Ted White. The youngest is Kecalf, 53, who has also adopted the surname Franklin, derived from his relationship with Ken Cunningham, one of his agents, whom he did not marry. Between 1978 and 1982 she was married to Glynn Turman, with whom she remained on friendly terms until her death. Her most recent relationship was with Willie Wilkerson, a 75-year-old retired firefighter to whom she had never married and whose courtship her children did not approve of.