Trouble In Paradise: Aretha Franklin’s Sons Battle Over Handwritten Wills

During spring 2019, the estate was thrown into chaos when a handwritten will from 2010 was discovered in a cabinet, and another handwritten will from 2014 was found in a notebook under cushions at Franklin’s residence. Although both documents suggested that the sons would share income from music and copyrights, there were discrepancies between them. The older will list White and Owens as co-executors and mandate that Kecalf and Edward Franklin complete business classes and obtain a certificate or degree to receive any benefits from the estate. However, the 2014 version removed White as executor and replaced them with Kecalf Franklin without mentioning business classes. The estate granted Franklin’s primary home in Bloomfield Hills, valued at $1.1 million when she passed away, to Kecalf Franklin and his grandchildren, which is worth much more today.

In 2014, Aretha Franklin expressed her desire to auction off her gowns or donate them to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. She also clarified in both documents that her oldest son, Clarence, who is currently under guardianship, should receive regular support.

Attorney Charles McKelvie clarified that conflicting wills could not be considered for probate, prioritising the more recent one over earlier versions. In the case of Kecalf Franklin, McKelvie supported the 2014 will’s validity. However, Kurt Olson, White’s attorney, argued that the 2010 will was notarized and signed, while the later version was only a draft. In Olson’s opinion, if the document were meant to be a will, more care would have been taken than simply placing it in a spiral notebook under a couch cushion.

According to Simasko, a law instructor, it is possible to carry out final wishes in Michigan using an informal will.

“If you’re sitting there on a Sunday afternoon and you start handwriting your own wishes, the law allows it as long as the rules are followed: It’s in your handwriting, it’s dated and it’s signed,”

Three different executors managed Aretha Franklin’s estate over five years. However, in 2020, Owens resigned from his duties due to a “rift” among the sons.

Reginald Turner, a local lawyer and former president of the American Bar Association, succeeded the late Franklin. In March, he reported that the estate had earned $3.9 million in income over the previous year and spent a similar amount, which included over $900,000 in legal fees paid to various firms. The estate’s assets, mainly cash and real estate, were valued at $4.1 million, while the value of Franklin’s intellectual property and creative works was only listed at $1. According to court records, the estate has had to pay at least $8.1 million to the Internal Revenue Service since 2020, as the agency had a claim for taxes following the singer’s passing.