Aretha Franklin’s children are disputing her property in a US trial.

This content was published on Jul 10, 2023 – 19:36
July 10, 2023 – 19:36

Washington, July 10 (EFE). – The legal dispute over the will of American singer Aretha Franklin, who died in 2018, came to trial on Monday in a court dealing with inheritance issues in Michigan (USA).

Three of the four children of the Soul Queen, who spent years fighting against the authenticity of two handwritten wills found in Franklin’s home months after his death, appeared today in court, which jury chose that day.

One of the documents, hidden under sofa cushions, was dated 2014 and the other, which was in a safe, was placed by Franklin in 2010.

The dispute, which will be analyzed by jury and judge Jennifer Callahan, of Oakland County, Michigan, centers on which of the two documents should be recognized as reflecting the will of the “Respect” singer.

The inheritance, which includes luxury clothing, jewelry, real estate and royalties for the use of Franklin’s songs, is estimated at $18 million (€16.4 million at today’s exchange rate), according to a lawyer for one of the performers. Children of the New York Times.

However, the final amount would be reduced under an agreement with the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to resolve the failure to pay more than $8 million in taxes, by a percentage of the proceeds from Franklin’s music.

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

His other, eldest son, Clarence Franklin, will not participate in the trial, as he suffers from mental illness; However, both wills stipulate that the singer’s estate must be able to support her financially.

2010 will place White as manager of his estate and require his two other sons, Keckalf and Edward Franklin, to have a degree or diploma in business before accessing the estate.

However, the 2014 script removes the training requirements for the business and places Kecalf in charge of the singer’s fortune and heir to a mansion in the Detroit suburbs.

In turn, the newest will also ask relatives to auction the costumes of their shows at Sotheby’s in New York, or donate them to the Smithsonian Museums.

Franklin died 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 known only to her closest circle.

Since his death, his legacy has been immortalized in the movie “Respect” starring actress Jennifer Hudson, and on television in the series “Genius.” EFE

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