Aretha Franklin never recorded a formal will at a courthouse or with an attorney. Instead, she scribbled her final wishes down. The Grammy Award winner penned the last version and stuffed it between sofa cushions inside one of her homes as the family was looking for essential records after her death. The four-page will become the subject of fierce debate among Franklin’s sons.
The 2014 sofa will named son Kecalf and Franklin’s niece, Sabrina Owens, as the executors. Additionally, it awarded Kecalf her beloved Detroit residence, valued at $1.1 million in 2018, at the time of Franklin’s death. Sons Edward and Ted were also given homes owned by the soul singer. There was no specified person to inherit her fourth property, which was ultimately sold and split four ways. Before the November 2023 ruling, several members of Franklin’s family felt that the will she wrote in 2010 was the fairest, but ultimately, the couch version was determined to be the most valid. Still, both papers stipulated that the brothers should evenly divide the proceeds from their mother’s music and copyrights. With her estate estimated to be worth $80 million at the time of Franklin’s passing, each man walked away with a substantial amount of money.
Post source: The List
