A Michigan jury has decided that a handwritten document by singer Aretha Franklin, dated 2014 and found in her couch after her death, is a valid will. The verdict was reached on Tuesday after a brief trial that started on Monday.
The ruling is a victory for two of Franklin’s sons, Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin, who had argued that the 2014 papers should override a 2010 will that was discovered in a locked cabinet at the Queen of Soul’s home in suburban Detroit.
Aretha Franklin, who died five years ago at age 76, did not leave behind a formal, typewritten will. But both documents, with scribbles and hard-to-decipher passages, emerged in 2019 when a niece searched the home for records.
There are differences between the 2010 and 2014 versions, though they both appear to indicate that Franklin’s four sons would share income from music and copyrights. But under the 2014 will, Kecalf Franklin and 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.
The older will said Kecalf, 53, and Edward Franklin, 64, “must take business classes and get a certificate or a degree” to benefit from the estate. That provision is not in the 2014 version.
Kecalf and Edward had teamed up against brother Ted White II, who favored the 2010 will. White’s attorney, Kurt Olson, noted the earlier will was under lock and key. He said it was much more important than papers found in a couch.
But lawyers for Kecalf and Edward Franklin said the fact that the 2014 papers were found in a notebook in couch cushions did not make them less significant. “Says right here: ‘This is my will.’ She’s speaking from the grave, folks,” Craig Smith said of Franklin.
The jury found that the 2014 version was signed by Aretha Franklin, who put a smiley face in the letter ‘A.’
Franklin’s estate managers have been paying bills, settling millions in tax debts and generating income through music royalties and other intellectual property. The will dispute, however, has been unfinished business.
There still will be discussions over whether some provisions of the 2010 will should be fulfilled and whether Kecalf Franklin could become executor of the estate. Judge Jennifer Callaghan told all sides to file briefs and attend a status conference next week.
Aretha Franklin was a global star for decades, known especially for hits like “Think,” “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Respect.”
