Aretha Franklin Will Causes Family Chaos

If you’re the type who believes there will be no drama surrounding your assets and final wishes at the time of your death, then you haven’t heard the story about the Aretha Franklin Will & Final Testament.

Entertainment :
Aretha Franklin (affectionately known as the Queen of Soul) was arguably one of the greatest singers of all time. However, she was also one of the worst people on the face of the earth at handling business. For example, Aretha never trusted banks and proudly considered herself “old school.” So, she insisted on always being paid upfront and in cash before she’d step foot on a stage to perform. She always carried a purse with her on stage that rested on the piano near her. However, what most of us never knew was that her handbag contained the thousands of dollars in salary she was just paid to sing for the night.

Despite having access to some of the best attorney’s money could buy, Aretha never believed in getting her final affairs in order before her final days. Although her lawyers drafted several Wills over the years on her behalf, she purposely procrastinated and never signed any of them. Instead, she thought it was good enough to simply grab a pen and paper and write her final wishes out by hand. She then stuck the paper into a couch cushion in one of her many homes (along with cash she frequently hid in sofas, coffee cans, etc.) and forgot about it.

Regrettably, when the Queen of Soul passed away on August 16, 2018, her many homes, her millions of dollars in cash, the millions her estate will make in future royalties, as well as control over her brand all fell into limbo — and it was all because there was no official Aretha Franklin Will signed by her. Instead, her 3rd son (Ted White) came forward with a handwritten “Will” his mother allegedly wrote in 2010, while Aretha’s youngest son (Kecalf Franklin) presented a handwritten “Will” he found under a couch cushion from 2014.

Sadly, the idea of millions (or perhaps billions) in current and future revenue floating around bitterly divided the sons and Aretha’s family. It’s too bad since she could have easily avoided such drama if she’d only signed an official copy of the Aretha Franklin Will.

Without an official document, the sons spent years after their mother’s death fighting in court to determine who Aretha wanted to control her estate. This week, a court reached a conclusion.

On Tuesday, a jury concluded that the 2014 document written and signed by Aretha Franklin was indeed valid. This document gave her youngest son, Kecalf, exclusive control over her Michigan mansion, and is expected to hand him control over the remainder of her estate.

The ruling was a brutal loss for son #3 Ted White, whose document would have spread Aretha’s assets around evenly.

Craig Smith, an attorney for sons Edward (#2) and Kecalf Franklin (#4) read aloud to the jury the opening line from the 2014 document, in which Aretha wrote in part: “Being of sound mind, I write my will & testimony.”

“She’s speaking from the grave, folks: ‘THIS is my will,’” Smith told the jury.

It took nearly 5 years after her death for the Aretha Franklin Will to be certified official. It took a mere 5 minutes for the jury’s ruling to tear a family apart.

All of this could have been avoided if only the Queen of Soul had trusted the word of her attorneys and created an official Aretha Franklin Will.

And so, the moral of the story is this: don’t let this happen to you!

OK WASSUP! discusses Entertainment News:
The Aretha Franklin Will causes controversy.