In an extraordinary trial, two sons of the late Aretha Franklin testified with opposing views on the final wishes of the Queen of Soul. The trial will determine the validity of a handwritten document discovered in the cushions of a couch, which could potentially dictate the fate of her estate. Aretha Franklin passed away in 2018 at the age of 76 without a typewritten will, and her estate has been tied up in a court battle ever since her niece found multiple sets of handwritten papers at her home.
The central question for the jury is whether the 2014 document can be considered a valid will under Michigan law. If so, it could supersede a 2010 handwritten will that was found in a locked cabinet around the same time. The older version bears notarization and multiple signatures from Franklin.
Ted White II, a son who played guitar during his mother’s performances, supports the validity of the 2010 document. He emphasized that every other document she had signed throughout her life was done conventionally and with legal assistance. However, he acknowledged that the 2010 will was also written by his mother.
Despite some differences between the two documents, they both indicate that Franklin’s four sons would share income from music and copyrights. Posters displaying pages from the 2014 document were presented as evidence during the trial. This version crossed out White’s name as the executor of the estate and named another son, Kecalf Franklin, in his place. Kecalf Franklin and Franklin’s grandchildren would inherit her main home in Bloomfield Hills, which was valued at $1.1 million when she died but is worth much more today.
Kecalf Franklin, who is 53 years old, dismissed the idea that finding important papers like a will in the living room was unusual. When asked where Franklin would typically read mail, make important phone calls, sign documents, and even sleep, he repeatedly answered “on the couch.”
Sabrina Owens, a niece who initially managed the estate after Franklin’s death, did not appear in court, but her testimony from a formal interview was read aloud. She explained her determined efforts to search Franklin’s house for crucial records, recalling how she discovered three notebooks under the far-right cushion of the sofa.
Closing arguments in the trial will take place on Tuesday. The most recent public accounting of the estate, filed in March, revealed an income of $3.9 million over the previous year, with similar spending, including over $900,000 in legal fees. The overall assets of the estate were estimated at $4.1 million, primarily consisting of cash and real estate, while the value of Franklin’s creative works and intellectual property was significantly undervalued at just $1.
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