Aretha Franklin’s sons battle over handwritten wills 5 years after her death:
, the final wishes of music superstar Aretha Franklin are still unsettled. An unusual trial begins next Monday to determine which of two handwritten wills, including one found in couch cushions, will guide how her estate is handled.
“Does it surprise me that someone passed away before they had their ducks in a row? The answer is never,” said Pat Simasko, who specializes in wills and estates and teaches elder law at Michigan State University College of Law. There are differences between the documents, though they both appear to indicate the sons would share income from music and copyrights, which seems to make that issue less contentious than a few others.
But the 2014 version crosses out White’s name as executor and has Kecalf Franklin in his place. There’s no mention of business classes. 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.Aretha Franklin wrote in 2014 that her gowns could be auctioned or go to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
“If this document were intended to be a will there would have been more care than putting it in a spiral notebook under a couch cushion,” Olson said.Simasko, the law instructor, said final wishes can be fulfilled in Michigan through an informal will.
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Aretha Franklin's sons battle over handwritten wills 5 years after her deathFive years after music superstar Aretha Franklin's death, her final wishes are still unsettled
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Aretha Franklin's sons battle over handwritten wills 5 years after her deathFive years after music superstar Aretha Franklin's death, her final wishes are still unsettled.
Read more »
Aretha Franklin's sons battle over handwritten wills 5 years after her death5 years after her death, the final wishes of music superstar Aretha Franklin are still unsettled. An unusual trial begins next Monday to determine which of two handwritten wills, including one found in couch cushions, will guide how her estate is handled.
Read more »
Aretha Franklin's sons battle over handwritten wills 5 years after her deathFive years after her death, the final wishes of music superstar Aretha Franklin are still unsettled. A trial will determine which of two handwritten wills, including one found in couch cushions, will guide how her estate is handled.
Read more »
Aretha Franklin's sons battle over handwritten wills 5 years after her deathFive years after music superstar Aretha Franklin's death, her final wishes are still unsettled.
Read more »