Handwritten you will find below Aretha Franklin Posthumous couch cushions are valid and replace an earlier one that was locked in a closet, a jury decided Tuesday.
Her son Ted White II argued that the 2010 will that was locked and notarized should override the 2014 one that was discovered on her couch because it was done more traditionally.
Through his attorney, he told the jury, “With all the time I had spent working with her administratively… all the other documents she signed were something that was done traditionally and legally.”
The subsequent will was found after Sabrina Owens, the “Respect” singer’s niece, searched her suburban Detroit home for the following documents: Her death in 2018 without an official will.
Aretha Franklin’s sons battle over the late singer’s estate
“You can take your will and leave it on the kitchen table. It’s still your will,” attorney Charles McKelvey, who represented Franklin’s sons Kekalfe and Edward Franklin, said in closing arguments.
Kekalfe and Edward argued that the 2014 will should override the 2010 will.
“It says here: This is my will,” attorney Craig Smith added in the 2014 document. “She speaks from the grave, folks.”
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Kecalf said repeatedly in court that his mother often went about important business on her couch, arguing that pillows were not an unusual place to find Will.
In both wills, Franklin says her four sons will share the income from her music and copyrights. But in the 2014 edition, Kecalf Franklin, not White, as in the 2010 edition, is named as the enforcer.
Kegalf and his descendants will also inherit more than $1.1. million homes in the 2014 edition.
Another clause in her 2010 will that says Kekalfe, 53, and Edward, 64, “must take business lessons and obtain a degree or certification” to benefit from her estate, was dropped from the 2014 will.
Owens explained how she found it Will of 2014 while she ran the Franklin estate immediately after her death.
“She used the kitchen and the living room — that was about it,” said Owens, who did not appear in court this week but whose testimony from a previous interview was read aloud. “So, when I got to the couch, I lifted that pillow far right and there were three notebooks.”
The jury delivered its verdict after less than an hour of deliberation in the trial, which opened on Monday.
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“I am so happy,” said Kikalev. After the verdict. “I just wanted to abide by my mother’s wishes. We just want to exhale now. It’s been five long years for my family and kids.”
White’s attorney, Ted Olson, said, “We were here to see what the jury would rule. We’re going to live with it.”
The court battle was divided between Franklin’s sons. At one point this week, Smith claimed that Wyatt “wants to disenfranchise his two brothers. Teddy wants it all.”
Later, when asked about a possible rift between him and White, Keckoff said, “I love my brother with all my heart.”
Franklin’s fourth son, Clarence, who lives in an assisted living center, did not participate in the trial.
There will still be discussions about whether some of the 2010 provisions will be honored and whether Kecalf can become executor of the estate. Judge Jennifer Callahan asked all parties to file submissions and attend a case determination conference next week.
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The last public accounting report filed in March showed the property generated $3.9 million in income over the previous 12-month period and a similar amount of spending, including more than $900,000 in legal fees to various companies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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