The verdict is in and a Michigan jury has ruled that the late, great Queen of Soul’s handwritten will is the official last will and testament and her wishes outlined in the document will stand. They have determined that Aretha Franklins hand written will found between couch cushions after her death is the official declaration of her wishes and intentions for estate division and management.
Sons of the late and legendary Aretha Franklin appeared in probate court on Monday, July 10 to decide which of Franklin’s handwritten wills is the real thing – the one found in the cabinet or the one between the couch cushions.
Over the past four year’s since Franklin’s death, her four sons have been embroiled in a testy battle over her estate in Michigan probate courts. However only three of the four will appear in court this morning as Franklin’s eldest son, Clarence Franklin, who has a mental illness and is under a legal guardianship, has reached a settlement for an undisclosed percentage of the estate. The celebrated singer reportedly wrote in one of the documents “Kecalf, Eddie and Teddy must check on Clarence and give him$,” according to court filings.
The Queen of Soul was reportedly acutely aware of her worth as she wrote in the 2014 document (the one in the cabinet) that her gowns “could be auctioned at Sotheby Auction House NY … or go to [the] Smithsonian Museum in Washington or whatever they chose.” She also directed that her piano’s be auctioned at Sothebey’s.
While the full value of the estate has not been made public, (Franklin was extremely private about her financial affairs), but after paying $8 million in back taxes the multi-million dollar estate remains substantial.
She sang classics “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Respect,” “Think,” I Never Loved a Man The Way I Loved You,” “Do Right Woman” and “Soul Serenade.” She won 18 Grammy Awards and in 1987, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2009, Franklin sang at President Barack Obama’s first inauguration.
“Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade — our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace,” President Barack Obama said in regard to the singer’s death.
Aretha Franklin died in 2018 of pancreatic cancer. She was 76 years old.
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