Finally, Aretha Franklin’s Handwritten Will Found In Sofa “Ruled Valid” By Jury; Gives Verdict

A Michigan jury on Tuesday upheld the validity of Aretha Franklin’s handwritten will, nearly five years after it was stumbled upon hidden inside a sofa. The New York Times reported that the 2014 document, discovered in the Queen of Soul’s Detroit home after her 2018 passing, resolved how the late singer’s estate will be divided. According to Kecalf and Edward Franklin’s attorneys, the handwritten will should take precedence over the 2010 Will, which was also discovered nearby in a locked cabinet.

 

In an earlier document, Kecalf and Edward were required to “take business classes and obtain a certificate or a degree,” according to the media. However, the 2014 Will not have a schooling requirement. The later agreement, however, specified that three of Aretha’s sons, including Ted White Jr., would divide her music royalties equally. Her Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, home and her vehicles would pass to Kecalf and his children.

White, the middle son of the singer, had argued that 2010 Will should stand. According to the New York Times, that document was more comprehensive and had Aretha’s signature on each page. According to court records, the sons have agreed to support Clarence, the music icon’s first child and sufferer of a mental illness, according to the outlet.

It wasn’t known that the “Respect” singer had left behind the wills when she passed away from pancreatic cancer on August 16, 2018, until they were discovered by her niece in 2019. Aretha’s estate was valued at $80 million at the time of her passing. Due to years of legal fees and unpaid taxes, the current estimate is around $6 million. The late singer left behind nearly $4.1 million in personal property and real estate, $1 million in uncashed checks, more than $40 000 in furs, $73 000 in jewellery, and other investments.

The decision follows a four-year family feud over Ms Franklin’s estate, during which it was unclear what the late musician wanted, but gladly, all seems to be resolved now.