An Oakland County jury on Tuesday has determined a handwritten document found in Aretha Franklin's couch after her 2018 death is a valid Michigan will.
Two of her sons' lawyers argued the nine-year-old document should override an earlier 2010 will that was discovered around the same time in a locked cabinet at the Queen of Soul’s home in metro Detroit.
There were subtle differences between the 2010 and 2014 versions, but they both appear to indicate that Franklin’s four sons would share income from music and copyrights.
But the will found in the couch had her son, Kecalf Franklin and his grandchildren obtaining his mother's Bloomfield Hills home. The two wills also had differences surrounding the personal representative of the estate, according to WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton.
Langton, speaking live Tuesday afternoon, said the fact the jury validated a scribbled will found in the couch cushions isn't necessarily surprising.
"Generally speaking in Michigan, a handwritten will can be a legitimate will," Langton said. However, normally it's the last will in time is the one that controls. And in this case, the jury found exactly that. That the 2014 will -- yes the one found in the couch -- was sufficient enough to demonstrate Aretha Franklin's last will and testament. Basically, it's her wishes."
Langton reported her son Kecalf said he was "extremely happy" and this is what she would have wanted.
Kecalf Franklin also told him he and the other brothers are "absolutely not fighting" over the wills said they "just want closure."
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest details as they become available.
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