A 2014 note found in Aretha Franklin’s couch was a valid will, according to grand jury rules: NPR

Kecalf Franklin, son of music superstar Aretha Franklin, leaves court with his family on Tuesday in Pontiac, Mich. A document handwritten by singer Aretha Franklin and found on her couch after her death in 2018 is a valid Michigan will, a grand jury said Tuesday, a turning point in a dispute that pitted her sons against each other.

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Kecalf Franklin, son of music superstar Aretha Franklin, leaves court with his family on Tuesday in Pontiac, Mich. A document handwritten by singer Aretha Franklin and found on her couch after her death in 2018 is a valid Michigan will, a grand jury said Tuesday, a turning point in a dispute that pitted her sons against each other.

Carlos Osorio/AP

A Michigan jury has ruled that a handwritten note from the late soul singer Aretha Franklin is as valid as her will, according to The Associated Press.

In 2019, Franklin’s granddaughter found three handwritten documents around the singer’s home in suburban Detroit. One, dated 2014, was found under the couch cushions.

Franklin’s two sons, Kecalf and Edward Franklin, argued through their attorneys that they wanted the second note to override a separate will written in 2010. The opposing party was their brother, Ted White. II, the man’s attorney argued that the 2010 will would be valid because it was found under a lock and key in Aretha Franklin’s home.

The most recent will stipulates that Kecalf and Aretha Franklin’s grandchildren will inherit her home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. The 2010 will says that her sons need to have a certificate or degree in business before enjoying her estate, but it doesn’t say that in the 2014 version. according to AP.

Both versions of the will allow her four sons to benefit from music royalties and royalties. Aretha Franklin’s fourth son, Clarence Franklin, lives in an assisted living facility and was not present at the trial, AP reported.

Although many of the documents were sometimes difficult to read, the jury concluded that the 2014 note had her name signed at the bottom, with a smiley face written inside the “A,” the AP said. know.

Franklin, was awarded the title of “Queen of Soul Music” for hits like “Respect,” “Chain of Fools” and “Day Dreaming,” passed away in 2018 at the age of 76 because of pancreatic cancer.