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 singers 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 dont want to do one. She understood the need. It just didnt seem to be something she got around to.
Papers filed in Michigans 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, Arethas 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 mothers assets in the absence of a will. So far no sign of conflict has emerged.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
She died intestine?
This won’t be pretty.
Wonder if she liked slightly younger white boys? Oh well, too late now.
She knew she was in bad health for a long time - I wonder if she just didn’t trust the legal system.
Intestate
This is truly sad.
States and attorneys love this sort of thing.
Hillary and Chelsey want the dough.
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.
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.
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.
It goes by statute. No big deal.
It goes by statute. No big deal.she was a great American singer we will miss her.
It goes by statute. No big deal.she was a great American singer we will miss her.
“Aretha Franklin died without a will”
Boy. THAT’S gonna keep me up nights.
/s
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.
I notice that too. She had her first child at 13 - wow.
True, but why was the niece appointed as executor?
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.
She had a baby at 13?! Wow. My older daughters are 15 and 13. I cant even imagine them being mothers.
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.
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