When Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, died in August 2018 she left behind a legendary career and a massive music legacy that touched millions of people. She also left an estate worth $80 million and a legendary family controversy because no one could find a Will, a Trust, or any kind of estate plan that outlined her wishes.

 

Her family believed that without a Will, the estate would be divided equally among her four sons, Kecalf, Edward and Clarence Franklin, and Ted White Jr. as dictated by Michigan law, where Aretha lived. However, a few months later, Aretha’s niece, who served as executor, discovered not one, but two handwritten Wills.

 

A Will dated June 2010 was found locked in a drawer with other important documents. The document had been signed on every page and notarized.  A more recent Will dated March 2014 was found underneath a couch cushion in a spiral notebook. It was only signed on the last page. Each Will provided different instructions about how the estate was to be distributed.

 

Family Conflict

The 2010 Will was more detailed and specified weekly and monthly allowances for each of her four sons. It required her sons Kecalf and Edward to take business classes and obtain a certificate or a college degree in order to benefit from the estate.

 

The 2014 Will divided the assets equally between three of the sons. (Her son Clarence has special needs and an agreement was reached to provide for his care.) The document left the home and cars to Kecalf and his children. Both versions of the Will allowed the four sons to benefit from music royalties and copyrights.

 

Kecalf and Edward favored the later Will because it was more beneficial to them. Ted’s attorney argued in favor of the 2010 Will because it was more favorable to Ted. The only solution was to let a court decide.

 

In Michigan, a handwritten or holographic Will, must be substantially written in the maker’s own hand, be dated and signed. Both of Aretha’s handwritten documents met those requirements. Finally, five years after the singer’s death, a jury decided that the notes found under the couch cushion constituted a valid Will and since it contained the most current date, that document was the one used to settle Aretha Franklin’s estate.

 

Lessons from Aretha

Aretha Franklin’s four sons did receive an inheritance based on instructions contained in the 2014 Will. But it could have been much more. The $80 million estate was decimated by the loss of $7.8 million in back taxes paid to the IRS, millions of dollars in legal fees, and federal estate taxes. With proper estate planning, there could have been much more to pass on to the heirs.

 

What can we learn from the Aretha Franklin estate saga?

  • Writing a Will yourself can create questions about its authenticity.
  • A properly drafted Will by a legal professional can eliminate confusion, unnecessary expenses, and conflict among family members.
  • Store the Will in a safe place and tell your executor where it is.
  • Have a conversation with your heirs and tell them what’s in the Will and who gets what. They may not like it, but it won’t be a surprise when you’re gone.
  • Update your Will when there’s a life change such as marriage, divorce, a birth, or if you change your mind about how you want your estate distributed.

 

Some pre-planning will eliminate a lot of time, heartache, and money when it comes time to settle your estate. If you don’t do it for yourself, do it for the ones you leave behind.

 

 

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