Aretha Franklin mesmerizes the audience during her captivating performance in New York City on November 7, 2017.
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
The Validity of Aretha Franklin’s Wills is Uncertain
A will is a legally binding document that outlines your wishes for the distribution of your property and assets after your death. In simpler terms, it specifies who will inherit your belongings and in what proportions. Additionally, parents with minor children can appoint a legal guardian for them through a will.
By including an executor in your will, you ensure that your wishes are carried out.
If someone passes away without a valid will, they are considered to have died “intestate.” Each state has specific laws that determine how the deceased’s property will be distributed in such cases.
Aretha Franklin did not have a traditional, typed will. Instead, she wrote down her wishes in two handwritten wills — one dated 2010 and another dated 2014. Both were discovered in Franklin’s Detroit home several months after the Queen of Soul’s death from pancreatic cancer in 2018.
Aretha Franklin, who passed away at the age of 76, had four sons. The current legal dispute revolves around which of the handwritten wills should govern her estate, and it involves her sons. The trial began on Monday.
One of her sons, Ted White II, argues that the 2010 will should control the estate, while her other two sons, Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin, favor the 2014 document. Both wills have differences, such as the distribution of Franklin’s main home in Bloomfield Hills, valued at $1.1 million when she died. The 2014 version assigns the home to Kecalf Franklin and grandchildren, while the 2010 version splits it equally between White and Kecalf Franklin.
Both wills suggest that the sons would share the income from Franklin’s music and copyrights.
Every individual should have either a will or a trust. Otherwise, state law will dictate the distribution of your property.
Richard Behrendt
Estate planner
In certain states like Michigan, handwritten wills, also known as holographic wills, are recognized as valid if they meet specific criteria. The more recent will typically takes precedence over an older one. If a jury deems Franklin’s 2014 will, which was found in a notebook under a couch cushion, as valid, it would supersede the 2010 document found in a locked cabinet.
“There are too many ways it could go wrong,” said Behrendt about drafting a do-it-yourself will. “This proceeding will be extensively discussed in law schools across the country.
“This is precisely why you shouldn’t write it on a notepad,” he added.
Certain Cases Where a Proper Will is Superseded
A will can be superseded in certain situations, such as when there are beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, explained Charlie Douglas, a certified financial planner and president of HH Legacy Investments in Atlanta.
This can also occur when a decedent owns property in “joint tenancy,” where multiple individuals own the property together. For instance, if a married couple owns an investment account in joint tenancy, the surviving spouse would inherit the account, regardless of the will’s instructions.
“It’s essential to consider how your assets are titled,” Douglas emphasized. “Because the will may or may not have control over them.”
When someone passes away, the executor presents their will to the court as part of the probate process. The will then becomes a matter of public record.
Individuals who wish to keep the details of their estate plan private, particularly celebrities and the wealthy, may opt for a trust instead, according to Behrendt. A revocable trust functions similarly to a will but allows individuals to bypass the courts.
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