PONTIAC, Mich. – Five years later her deathMusic superstar Aretha Franklin’s last wishes are still unclear. An unusual trial will begin next Monday to determine which of two handwritten wills, including one found in sofa cushions, will determine the administration of her estate.
The Queen of Soul, who had four sons, did not have a formal, typewritten will, despite years of health problems and efforts to create one. But Michigan law still allows other documents — with scrawls, strikethroughs, and hard-to-read passages — to be treated as their orders.
The dispute consists of playing off one son against other sons. Ted White II believes papers from 2010 should primarily control the estate, while Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin prefer a 2014 document. Both were discovered at Franklin’s home in suburban Detroit, months after her death from pancreatic cancer in 2018 at the age of 76.
“Am I surprised that someone died before they had their ducks lined up? The answer is never,” said Pat Simasko, who specializes in wills and probate and teaches older law at Michigan State University College of Law.
“This can be clarified at any time on the spot or in the middle of the process,” he said. “And hopefully it will be like that. Going to a jury trial is a war.”
Here’s a look at the case:
DEATH OF FRANKLIN
Franklin was a global star for decades, best known for hits like “Think”, “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Respect”. She was treated like royalty in death, her body being transported in a 1940 Cadillac hearse to a Detroit museum, where Thousands of people attended in August 2018.
“She was the diva of the people,” said sociologist Michael Eric Dyson at the time.
It was immediately revealed that Franklin had died intestate, meaning her four sons would likely share assets worth millions, including real estate in suburban Detroit, furs, dresses, jewelry, and future royalties from their works. One niece, Sabrina Owens, agreed to serve as personal representative or executor.
“My advice? Walk slowly, be careful and be smart,” Franklin’s friend, businessman Ron Moten, told the sons at the funeral.
WAIT – WHAT IS THIS?
Months later, in spring 2019, the The property was turned upside down. Owens reported that a handwritten will from 2010 was found in a closet and another handwritten will from 2014 was discovered in a notebook under pillows at Franklin’s home.
There are differences between the documents, although both indicate that the sons would share earnings from music and copyrights. The Older Testament lists White and Owens as joint stewards and states that Kecalf and Edward Franklin “must take business courses and earn a certificate or degree” to benefit from the estate.
But the 2014 version drops White’s name as executor and puts Kecalf Franklin in his place. There is no talk of business class. 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 but is worth much more today.
“It’s the crown jewel,” said Craig Smith, attorney for Edward Franklin
Aretha Franklin wrote in 2014 that her dresses could go to auction or to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. She pointed out in both papers that eldest son Clarence, who lives under guardianship, needs regular support.
“Two conflicting wills cannot both be admitted to the probate hearing. In such cases, the most recent will revokes the previous will,” Charles McKelvie, an attorney for Kecalf Franklin, said in a court filing in favor of the 2014 document.
But White’s attorney, Kurt Olson, said the 2010 will was notarized and signed, while the later version was “just a draft.”
“If this document was meant to be a will, one would have had to be more careful than stuffing it in a spiral notebook under a sofa cushion,” Olson said.
INTENTION IS KEY
Simasko, the law professor, said last wishes in Michigan can be granted through an informal will.
“If you sit there on a Sunday afternoon and start handwriting your own wishes, that’s legal as long as the rules are followed: it’s handwritten, dated and signed,” he said.
For five years, Aretha Franklin’s estate was administered by three executors at different times. Owens quit in 2020, citing a “rift” between the sons.
She was succeeded by Reginald Turner, a local attorney who also served as president of the American Bar Association. Its most recent statement in March showed the estate had income of $3.9 million and similar expenses for the trailing 12-month period, including more than $900,000 in legal fees for various firms.
Total assets were estimated at $4.1 million, mostly cash and real estate, although Franklin’s creative works and intellectual property were undervalued at just $1 face value.
The estate has paid at least $8.1 million since 2020 to the Internal Revenue Service, which had a tax claim following the singer’s death, court filings show.
“The IRS claims took precedence. “The estate didn’t go anywhere until the IRS was paid off,” Smith said.
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