Ed White, Associated Press
26 minutes ago
FILE – In this Dec. 4, 2008 file photo, Aretha Franklin performs at the 85th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange in New York. In a ruling handed down on Monday, Nov. 28, 2023, Judge Jennifer Callahan, who oversees Aretha Franklin’s estate, ruled that the late music superstar’s will was in accordance with a 2014 handwritten will found in a couch cushion. He said that he had allotted the property to his sons. (AP Photo/Mary Altafer, File)
DETROIT (AP) — The judge overseeing Aretha Franklin’s estate has ruled to award real estate to the late star’s sons, citing a 2014 handwritten will discovered between couch cushions. .
Monday’s ruling came four months after a Detroit-area jury determined the document was a valid will under Michigan law, despite graffiti and many hard-to-read texts. Franklin signed it, with a smiley face on the letter “A.”
The judge said the documents would invalidate a 2010 handwritten will that was discovered at Franklin’s suburban Detroit home around the same time in 2019.
One of her sons, Kecalf Franklin, will acquire the property, which was valued at $1.1 million in 2018, but is now worth much more. A lawyer described it as a “crown jewel” before the trial last July.
Another son, Ted White II, who supported the 2010 will, was given a home in Detroit, but it was sold by the estate’s heirs for $300,000 before the dueling wills were revealed.
Kecalf Franklin attorney Charles McKelvey said Tuesday that “Teddy is demanding the proceeds of the sale.”
Judge Jennifer Callahan gave separate property to her third son, Edward Franklin, under a 2014 will.
Aretha Franklin owned four homes when she died of pancreatic cancer in 2018. The discovery of two of her handwritten wills months after her death sparked a dispute between her sons over what their mother wanted to do with her real estate and other assets.
One of the properties, worth more than $1 million, will be sold and the proceeds will be divided among his four sons. The judge said the 2014 will did not clearly state who should receive the will.
“This was an important step forward. We have narrowed down the remaining issues,” McKelvey said of the real estate story.
There is still controversy over what should happen to Aretha Franklin’s music assets, but her will appears to indicate that any income she earns will be distributed to her sons. A status conference with a judge is scheduled for January.
Franklin was a worldwide star for decades, especially known for hits such as “Think,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” and “Respect” in the late 1960s.
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