Aretha Franklin’s children dispute her estate of US$ 18 million. on trial in USA

The legal dispute over the will of the American singer Aretha Franklinwho died in 2018, came to trial this Monday in a court that handles probate matters in Michigan (United States).

Three of the four children of the queen of soul, who have spent years battling the validity of two handwritten wills that were found in Franklin’s house months after he died, appeared today before the court, which on this day selected the jury.

One of the documents, hidden under the cushions of a sofa, was dated 2014 and the other, which was in a closet, had been drawn up by Franklin in 2010.

The dispute, which will be analyzed by the jury and Judge Jennifer Callaghan, of Oakland County, Michigan, centers on which of the two documents should be recognized as the one that reflects the will of the “Respect” singer.

It is estimated that the inheritance, which includes luxury clothing, jewelry, real estate and royalties for the use of Franklin’s songs, is valued at about US$ 18 million (16.4 million euros at today’s exchange rates), said the lawyer for one of the artist’s children to 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 US $ 8 million in taxes, through a percentage of the royalties of the music of Franklin.

The singer’s four children are at odds over the interpretation of their mother’s posthumous wishes: two of them, Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin, argue that the 2014 document is the only one that is valid, while her third son, Ted White II, considers that the true testament is that of 2010.

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

The 2010 will places White as the administrator of her estate and requires her two other sons, Kecalf and Edward Franklin, to obtain a certificate or diploma in business before accessing the estate.

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

In turn, the most modern will also orders the relatives to auction the costumes of their performances at the Sotheby’s auction house in New York, or donate them to the Smithsonian museums.

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

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

Source: EFE