The judge who is responsible for overseeing Aretha Franklin’s estate has recently granted real estate to her sons. The decision was based on a handwritten will that was found between couch cushions in 2014.
Four months ago, a jury in the Detroit-area deemed the document as valid under Michigan law. Even though the will was hard-to-read, Franklin signed it and placed a smiley face in the letter “A.” This means that the document invalidates a 2010 handwritten will that was found at her Detroit home in 2019, according to the judge. Kecalf Franklin, one of the late singer’s sons, will get the property valued at $1.1 million in 2018—but now it’s worth more.
About the decision, Kecalf said to the AP: “I’m very, very happy. I just wanted my mother’s wishes to be adhered to. We just want to exhale right now. It’s been a long five years for my family, my children.”
Another one of Franklin’s sons, Ted White II, was a proponent of the 2010 will and received a house in Detroit. However, it was sold by the estate for $300,000 before the differing wills had come to light.
Edward Franklin, Franklin’s third son, received another property from Judge Jennifer Callaghan under the 2014 will. The star died of pancreatic cancer in 2018 at 76 years of age, leaving four homes behind. The dueling wills led to arguments between her children of how her property would be allocated.
Even though her homes have been distrubuted, there’s still disagreement over how Aretha Franklin’s music assets will be handled. The will seemingly implies that the sons would divide any income. The status of this will be determined by a judge in January.
“This was a significant step forward. We’ve narrowed the remaining issues,” Charles McKelvie, an attorney for Kecalf Franklin, said Tuesday.