2023-07-11 23:56:00
When Aretha Franklin died in 2018, she did not leave a will and, since then, the fate of her fortune has been the subject of controversy, lawsuits and family fights.
However, a document handwritten by the singer and found on her couch after her death will be considered a valid will in Michigan, a jury concluded Tuesday.
It’s a victory for Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin, whose lawyers had argued that documents dated 2014 should overturn a 2010 will that was discovered around the same time in a locked cabinet at the Queen of Soul’s home in the Detroit suburbs.
The jury deliberated less than an hour after a brief trial that began Monday. After the verdict was read, Aretha Franklin’s grandchildren stepped forward from the front row to hug Kecalf and Edward.
“I am very very happy. I just wanted my mother’s wishes to be carried out,” Kecalf Franklin said. “We just want to exhale right now. It’s been a long five years for my family, my children.”
Aretha Franklin, who for decades was a global star known for hits like “Think,” “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Respect,” left no formal typed will when she died at age 76.
But documents, with scribbles and difficult-to-decipher passages, suddenly surfaced in 2018, when a niece toured the house looking for files.
When Franklin died of pancreatic cancer in August 2018, it was believed that he had not prepared a will for approximately $6 million in real estate, cash, gold records and furs, and the royalties to his music, which continue to add up to a significant amount. amount of money to his fortune.
In closing arguments, lawyers for two of Franklin’s sons commented that the fact that the 2014 documents were found in a notebook hidden among the cushions of a sofa did not make them any less significant.
“You can take your will and leave it on the kitchen counter. It remains your will,” attorney Charles McKelvie explained to the jury.
Another lawyer, Craig Smith, pointed to the first line of the document, which was shown enlarged on four large posters in front of the jury.
“It says right here: ‘This is my will.’ She’s speaking from the grave,” Smith said of Franklin.
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Kecalf and Edward joined forces against his brother Ted White II, whom the 2010 will favored. White’s attorney, Kurt Olson, said the 2010 document was under lock and key. He said it was much more significant than the papers found on the couch.
“We were here to see what the jury concluded. We will live with that,” Olson said after the verdict.
The jury came to a decision that the 2014 version was signed by Aretha Franklin, who put a smiley face on the letter “A”.
Olson said there could still be discussions with the judge about whether to honor some provisions of the 2010 will.
Franklin’s estate managers have paid bills, settled millions in tax debts and generated income through music royalties and other intellectual property.
The will dispute, however, was unfinished business.
There are differences between the 2010 and 2014 versions, although both seem to indicate that Franklin’s four children would share the revenue from music and royalties.
What does Aretha Franklin’s will found on a sofa say?
But under 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 and is worth much more today.
The oldest will stated that Kecalf, 53, and Edward Franklin, 64, “must take business classes and obtain a certificate or degree” to benefit from the estate. That provision is not in the 2014 version.
White, who played guitar with Aretha Franklin, testified against the 2014 will, saying her mother would generally have important documents done “in a conventional and legal manner” and with the help of a lawyer. She did not comment immediately after the verdict.
The most pointed comments at the trial came from Smith, who represented Edward Franklin. He told the jury that White “wants to disinherit both of his brothers. Teddy wants it all.”
Kecalf Franklin sat near White during the trial, but they did not seem to speak to each other.
“I love my brother with all my heart,” Kecalf said outside court when asked if there was a break.
Aretha Franklin had a fourth child, Clarence Franklin, who lives in conservatorship in an assisted living facility and was not involved in the lawsuit.
She dreamed of reaching the top in aviation and became the first female Hispanic military pilot in the US.
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