Aretha Franklin's sons battle over late singer's estate
Franklin had 4 sons who are taking her 2 handwritten wills to court on Monday
Aretha Franklin dead at 76, remembering the 'Queen of Soul'
'Queen of Soul' Aretha Franklin has died at the age of 76. Here is a look back at her iconic life and career.
Aretha Franklin's four sons are battling over her estate five years after her death.
A strange trial will begin Monday with Franklin's assets being called into question. Two handwritten wills are set to be presented, which under Michigan law, can be accepted as her final commands.
Both of the wills were discovered in her Detroit home in the months following her death from pancreatic cancer in 2018 – with the more recent one being found in a notebook between couch cushions.
Aretha Franklin's sons are battling over two handwritten wills Franklin wrote prior to her death in 2018. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
The dispute is pitting one son against his siblings. Ted White II believes papers dated in 2010, which was found in a cabinet, should mainly control the estate, while Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin favor a 2014 document.
DETROIT LAWYER TAPPED TO TAKE OVER ARETHA FRANKLIN ESTATE
It was immediately known that Franklin had died without a will, which meant her four sons likely would share assets worth millions, including real estate in suburban Detroit, furs, gowns, jewelry and future royalties from her works. A niece, Sabrina Owens, agreed to be personal representative or executor.
Kecalf Franklin, a son of Aretha Franklin, is in favor of the will written in 2014. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio / AP Newsroom)
Edward Franklin, a son of Aretha Franklin, is also in favor of the 2014 document. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio / AP Newsroom)
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.
The older will lists White and Owens as co-executors and says Kecalf and Edward "must take business classes and get a certificate or a degree" to benefit from the estate.
Aretha Franklin's son Ted White is in favor of the first 2010 will. (AP Photo/Ed White / AP Newsroom)
However, the 2014 version crosses out White’s name as executor and has Kecalf in his place. There is no mention of business classes. Kecalf 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.
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Franklin wrote in 2014 that her gowns could be auctioned or go to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. She indicated in both papers that oldest son, Clarence, who lives under a guardianship, must be regularly supported.
In a frame grab from video, Pat Simasko, an attorney who specializes in wills and estates and teaches elder law at Michigan State University College of Law, points at a copy of one of Aretha Franklin's handwritten wills, June 29, 2023 in Mount Clemen (AP Photo/Mike Householder / AP Newsroom)
For five years, Franklin’s estate has been handled at different times by three executors. Owens quit in 2020, citing a "rift" among the sons.
Overall assets were pegged at $4.1 million, mostly cash and real estate, though Franklin’s creative works and intellectual property were undervalued with just a nominal $1 figure.
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The estate since 2020 has paid at least $8.1 million to the Internal Revenue Service, which, court filings show, had a claim for taxes after the singer’s death.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.