A jury in Michigan has ruled that a note handwritten by the late soul singer Aretha Franklin is valid as her will, according to The Associated Press.
In 2019, Franklin’s niece found three handwritten documents around the singer’s home in suburban Detroit. One, dated 2014, was found underneath a couch cushion.
Two of Franklin’s sons, Kecalf and Edward Franklin, argued through their lawyers that they wanted the latter note to override a separate will written in 2010. The opposing party was their brother, Ted White II, whose lawyer argued that the 2010 will should stand because it was found under lock and key in Aretha Franklin’s home.
The FBI monitored Aretha Franklin’s role in the civil rights movement for years
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The FBI monitored Aretha Franklin’s role in the civil rights movement for years
The most recent will stipulates that Kecalf as well as Aretha Franklin’s grandchildren would be entitled to her home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. The 2010 will says her sons would need to get a certificate or degree in business before becoming entitled to her estate, but it does not say that in the 2014 version, according to the AP. READ MORE