Aretha Franklin’s children dispute her estate

The legal dispute surrounding the will of the American singer Aretha Franklin, who died in 2018, began this Monday in the court dealing with probate matters in Michigan (USA).

Three of the four children of the queen soulwhich takes years fighting over the validity of two willsThe manuscripts that were found in Franklin’s home months after his death were presented today before the court, which selected the jury today.

One of the documents, hidden under the pillow a sofa, dated 2014 and the other, which was in the closet, was written by Franklin in 2010.

The dispute, which will be analyzed by the jury and judge Jennifer Callaghan, Oakland County, Michigan focuses on which of these two documents should be recognized as a reflection of the will of the “Respect” singer.

The inheritance, which includes luxury clothing, jewelry, real estate and royalties for the use of Franklin’s songs, is estimated to be worth about $18 million (16.4 million euros at today’s exchange rate), a lawyer for one of the artist’s sons told The New York Times.

However, the final amount will be reduced by an agreement with the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to resolve the non-payment of more than $8 million in taxes, through a percentage of royalties from Franklin’s music.

The singer’s four children clash over the interpretation of their mother’s dying wishes: two of them, Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin, claim that the 2014 document is the only valid one, while her third son, Ted White II, believes that the real will is the one from 2010.

His second son, the eldest, Clarence Franklin, will not participate in the trial, as he suffers from mental illness, but both wills indicate that the singer’s estate must be able to support him financially.

The 2010 will makes White executor of her estate and requires her two other sons, Kecalf and Edward Franklin, to earn a certificate or degree in business before accessing the estate.

However, the 2014 text eliminates the business training requirements and places Kecalf as the manager of the singer’s fortune and heir to a mansion on the outskirts of Detroit.

In return, the state-of-the-art will also directs the relatives to sell their performance costumes at Sotheby’s auction house in New York or donate them to Smithsonian museums.

Franklin passed away on August 16, 2018at age 76, at home in Detroit, MI, surrounded by loved ones after a few days in hospice care for pancreatic cancer known only to her closest circle.

Since his death, his legacy has been perpetuated both on film, such as Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson, and on television in the series Genius.