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Aretha Franklin died without a will
The Guardian ^ | 09-02-2018 | AP

Posted on 09/02/2018 4:24:47 PM PDT by NRx

Aretha Franklin, who died last month at the age of 76, did not leave a will. Her four sons and other family members are thus left to find out how much the Queen of Soul was worth, and to divide it up. The process could take years and is likely to play out in public.

Estate law experts expressed surprise but not shock that a wealthy person like Franklin would put off a will until it was too late. One of the singer’s attorneys said he urged her repeatedly to draft one.

“I tried to convince her that she should do not just a will but a trust while she was still alive,” says Don Wilson, a Los Angeles lawyer who worked for Franklin for nearly 30 years. “She never told me, ‘No, I don’t want to do one.’ She understood the need. It just didn’t seem to be something she got around to.”

Papers filed in Michigan’s Oakland county court last week by David J Bennett, the lawyer who worked most closely with Franklin, lay out the few known basics. She was not married and left four sons, aged 48 to 63: Clarence Franklin, Edward Franklin, Kecalf Franklin and Ted White Jr. Clarence, Aretha’s eldest, is incapacitated and represented by a guardian.

A niece has accepted the role of executor. Under Michigan law, as in most states, the sons will equally divide their mother’s assets in the absence of a will. So far no sign of conflict has emerged.

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Michigan
KEYWORDS: arethafranklin; intestate; will
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To: NRx

She died intestine?


21 posted on 09/02/2018 4:43:09 PM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: NRx

This won’t be pretty.


22 posted on 09/02/2018 4:46:29 PM PDT by mdittmar
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To: mdittmar

Wonder if she liked slightly younger white boys? Oh well, too late now.


23 posted on 09/02/2018 4:49:40 PM PDT by donozark (There are no flamingos in Venezuela.)
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To: NRx

She knew she was in bad health for a long time - I wonder if she just didn’t trust the legal system.


24 posted on 09/02/2018 4:49:53 PM PDT by GnuThere
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To: NRx

Intestate


25 posted on 09/02/2018 4:52:01 PM PDT by Bobalu (12 diet Cokes and a fried chicken...)
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To: NRx

This is truly sad.

States and attorneys love this sort of thing.


26 posted on 09/02/2018 4:52:59 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (01/26/18 DJIA 30 stocks $26,616.71 48.794% > open 11/07/16 215.71 from 50% increase 1.2183 yrs)
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To: wmileo

Hillary and Chelsey want the dough.


Nonsense. Chelsea is on the record saying she could never get herself interested in money.


27 posted on 09/02/2018 4:55:06 PM PDT by hanamizu
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To: NRx

She wasn’t the sharpest tool, and or she was played specifically so it would play out in court. Some dirt bag will now come foreward with claims. Beyond sad.


28 posted on 09/02/2018 4:55:24 PM PDT by DAC21
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To: NRx

Let this be a warning to any Freepers who haven’t gotten their last affairs in order.

Wills and suchlike aren’t just for “the rich.”

You can prevent a lot of unnecessary family strife by getting this taken care of. And there are lawyers who will do this for a reasonable fee.


29 posted on 09/02/2018 4:56:07 PM PDT by Catmom (We're all gonna get the punishment only some of us deserve.)
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To: donozark

Where there’s a will, I want to be part of it.

Read that not long ago here on FR.

My Dad had a will but it was goofy.

I smoothed the way by signing over my claim to my Sister...so probate was relatively simple.

My brother-in-law passed a few months back, my Sister is still dealing with the details..and he had a good, solid will. The tricky part was the two death benefits he had on his Ameriprise market accounts. They want every i dotted and t crossed, they probably have been played for fools by people in the past.


30 posted on 09/02/2018 4:59:33 PM PDT by Bobalu (12 diet Cokes and a fried chicken...)
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To: NRx

It goes by statute. No big deal.


31 posted on 09/02/2018 5:03:31 PM PDT by raiderboy (Trump promised “shut down the government” in September; if no wall!!)
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To: NRx

It goes by statute. No big deal.she was a great American singer we will miss her.


32 posted on 09/02/2018 5:06:33 PM PDT by raiderboy (Trump promised “shut down the government” in September; if no wall!!)
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To: NRx

It goes by statute. No big deal.she was a great American singer we will miss her.


33 posted on 09/02/2018 5:06:42 PM PDT by raiderboy (Trump promised “shut down the government” in September; if no wall!!)
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To: NRx

“Aretha Franklin died without a will”

Boy. THAT’S gonna keep me up nights.

/s


34 posted on 09/02/2018 5:07:39 PM PDT by Pravious
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To: sanjuanbob

She got pregnant at 12, had another vat 14. Parents were not the best role models, kind of appropriate having Rev. Gropey and Oogling Bill there as her old man couldn’t keep it zipped either.


35 posted on 09/02/2018 5:08:55 PM PDT by bigbob (Trust Sessions. Trust the Plan.)
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To: sanjuanbob

I notice that too. She had her first child at 13 - wow.


36 posted on 09/02/2018 5:08:59 PM PDT by Patriot Babe
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To: Larry Lucido

True, but why was the niece appointed as executor?


37 posted on 09/02/2018 5:09:03 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z1)
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To: NRx

I’ve read that before.If true,by the time all the dust has settled there will be a number of very rich lawyers and the family will get essentially nothing.I think I’ve read that she was worth some very serious $$$...which would certainly be expected.


38 posted on 09/02/2018 5:10:23 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (I've Never Owned Slaves...You've Never Picked Cotton.End Of "Discussion".)
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To: sanjuanbob

She had a baby at 13?! Wow. My older daughters are 15 and 13. I can’t even imagine them being mothers.


39 posted on 09/02/2018 5:12:53 PM PDT by NorthstarMom
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To: hanamizu
Nonsense. Chelsea is on the record saying she could never get herself interested in money.

Yup,I remember seeing the video of her saying that.In the background was a moving van moving her belongings into her newly acquired $10 million townhouse in Tribeca.

40 posted on 09/02/2018 5:14:10 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (I've Never Owned Slaves...You've Never Picked Cotton.End Of "Discussion".)
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