A more than four-year family dispute over Aretha Franklin’s legacy ended Tuesday when a Michigan jury ruled that her family could not. One of the two handwritten wills expressed the famous singer’s true wishes as to how her inheritance should be divided.
After a two-day trial in probate court in Pontiac, Michigan, the six-man jury, written by Franklin in 2014, was found under a sofa cushion in his home after less than an hour of deliberation. Page’s document ruled that this document. , months after Franklin’s death in 2018, should serve as her will.
The ruling resolved the biggest problem plaguing Ms. Franklin’s estate and set in motion a plan for how to divide the income and assets from her estate.
“We just want to breathe right now,” Kecalf Franklin, one of the singer’s four sons, said outside the courtroom. “These five years have been a long time for my family and children.”
After the singer died at the age of 76, her family believed she had no will. Under Michigan law, her estate was to be divided equally between her four sons, Kecalf, Edward & Clarence Franklin, and Ted White, Jr. The sons unanimously appointed the cousin a personal representative of the estate, a position similar to that of an executor.
But a few months later, in May 2019, two handwritten documents were found at Franklin’s suburban Detroit home, one in a locked cabinet and the other in a spiral notebook on the couch. there were. This caused an immediate split between the Franklin children. Questions also arose about how music royalties and other real estate income, as well as valuables such as Franklin’s furs, jewelry and musical instruments, would be distributed.
Neither document was prepared by a lawyer, nor is there a list of witnesses, but the first is notarized. Both had detailed lists of assets, as well as seemingly irrelevant information, including derogatory comments about some of the men involved in Franklin’s life.
Without a traditionally executed will, a jury was left to decide whether the 2014 document met the standards of Michigan law.holographic” or a handwritten will.
The wills also differed in how Franklin’s assets were divided. The previous one specified weekly and monthly allowances for each of Franklin’s four sons. It also stipulated that Mr. Kecalf and Mr. Edward “must take business classes and obtain a certificate or degree,” which was taken from their estate.
In a later will, three of Franklin’s sons, with the exception of Clarence, were to receive an equal share of their mother’s music royalties, while Kecalf and his children received more of Franklin’s personal fortune. had become Kecalf will receive his mother’s home base in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, which was valued at $1.1 million at the time of his death, and the singer’s car, according to the documents. Franklin owned a Mercedes-Benz, two Cadillacs and a Thunderbird convertible, according to a court filing in March.
Kecalf and Edward supported this later document, stating that it represented her last wish and canceled her earlier document. Ms. White played guitar in her mother’s band for many years, but she insisted on defending her will in 2010. The document has about 12 pages, is detailed, and is signed by Franklin on every page.
“Yes, you can’t write your will in a spiral notebook and keep it on your sofa cushion,” White’s attorney Kurt A. Olson said in his opening statement. “The bigger question here is what her intentions were.”
According to Edward Franklin’s attorney Craig A. Smith, the sons all agreed to support Edward Franklin’s first child, Clarence, who, according to court documents, suffers from mental illness.
The judge overseeing the case, Jennifer S. Callahan, said that even if the 2014 will was found valid by the jury, White said some aspects of the earlier document would be incorporated into the estate plan. He said he could argue that it is possible.
The controversy escalated as probate cases moved through the courts over the years. Kecalf blamed mismanagement on his cousin Sabrina Owens, who was originally elected to manage the property. She resigned from her position in 2020, citing a “rift” within her family.
There was still a palpable coldness between Kecalf, Edward and Ted White Jr. in the small courtroom this week. There was no handshake, no chat, no eye contact between the three adult men sitting shoulder to shoulder. I sat on the bench behind each lawyer.
White held his wife’s hand throughout the trial. He said the brothers were tough on each other in court, but they still talked about other things.
“We are as close as three old men,” White told reporters in court on Monday.
After the trial, Kecalf denied any ill will with White. “I love my brother with all my heart,” he said.
There was no dispute that Franklin wrote the document, but there is some debate as to whether the 2014 will was properly signed, and a smiley face appears to have been used instead of her first initials. .
“If it’s just a draft, why would anyone sign a document?” Kecalf’s attorney Charles L. McKelvey asked in court.
After Franklin’s death, Smith said her estate was valued at $18 million. In 2021, the foundation reached an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service to pay approximately $8 million in federal income taxes. Under the agreement, the estate administration will share 40% of its income, which includes music royalties and licensing fees, as well as income from projects such as the 2021 biopic Respect starring Jennifer Hudson, into the estate administration. It said it would be used to pay federal taxes owed by the organization. So are the estimated taxes payable by the heirs.
Court filings this year listed $4.1 million in personal property and real estate, including several homes in Michigan. $42,000 for fur. $73,000 in jewelry. Companies and accounts related to Franklin’s music. And the bank balance is just over $1 million. The treasurer made no attempt to estimate future earnings from her property license rights.
