On August 16, 2018, the iconic singer died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 76.
Questions about Aretha Franklin’s estate will be answered thanks to a handwritten will discovered behind a sofa cushion.
On August 16, 2018, the iconic singer died of pancreatic cancer at 76. Franklin died without a will, leaving her sons Edward and Kecalf Franklin, as well as Ted White Jr, in a legal battle.
According to the New York Times, the handwritten will was submitted in a probate court trial in Michigan on Monday, along with another handwritten paper discovered in a locked cabinet in May 2019. The records were discovered in Franklin’s Detroit home by her niece Sabrina Owens, according to CNN.
Despite the fact that a lawyer created neither document, CNN claims that one was dated March 31, 2014, and the other was dated 2010. Both arrangements required the brothers to split the proceeds from their mother’s songs and copyrights.
According to the Associated Press, lawyers for Kecalf and Edward supported the 2014 paper. According to the site, Franklin’s fourth son Clarence is under legal care and did not attend the trial.
According to the Associated Press, the subsequent contract granted Kecalf and her grandkids the right to inherit Franklin’s property in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. It also removed a stipulation from the 2010 contract that stated Kecalf and Edward “must take business classes and get a certificate or a degree” in order to profit from the estate.
In their closing statements on Tuesday, attorneys representing Kecalf and Edward said that the fact that the 2014 paper was discovered in a sofa cushion did not invalidate it.
“You can leave your will on the kitchen counter.” According to the Associated Press, Charles McKelvie informed the jury, “It’s still your will.” Craig Smith, another of their lawyers, used the first line of the 2014 paper in court. According to the publication, he informed the jurors, “Says right here: ‘This is my will.’”
The Associated Press writes that after the jury found in favor of Franklin’s will in 2014, Franklin’s grandchildren came forward to hug Kecalf and Edward.
“I’m quite pleased. I just wanted my mother’s wishes to be followed,” Kecalf told the Associated Press. “All we want to do right now is exhale. It’s been a difficult five years for my family, especially my children.”
