Aretha Franklin’s will found in her couch is valid

A Michigan jury decided Tuesday that a handwritten will found between couch cushions in Aretha Franklin’s home after her death in 2018 is valid, according to reports.

The soul music legend had left behind two handwritten wills that were found inside her Detroit home after her death from pancreatic cancer at age 76. The wills disagreed on which family members would control her estate, estimated at more than $80 million, prompting turmoil among Franklin’s children. A legal battle amounted to a trial at an Oakland County courthouse that started Monday and ended with a jury decision Tuesday.

The jury chose a will that was written in 2014 and found in Franklin’s couch months after her death, according to the Associated Press. It names Franklin’s niece Sabrina Owens and Franklin’s son Kecalf Franklin as co-executors of the estate. The will also states that Kecalf Franklin and his grandchildren will get his mother’s main home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., which was valued at $1.1 million when she died but which is worth much more today.

The older will, written in 2010 and found inside a cabinet in Franklin’s home, lists one of her other sons, Theodore White, and the niece, Owens, as co-executors of the estate. It also says Kecalf Franklin and her fourth son, Edward Franklin, “must take business classes and get a certificate or a degree” to benefit from the estate.

The 2014 will, which prevailed in court, does not mention such requirements for Kecalf and Edward.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Michigan jury decided Tuesday that a handwritten will found between couch cushions in Aretha Franklin’s home after her death in 2018 is valid, according to reports.

The soul music legend had left behind two handwritten wills that were found inside her Detroit home after her death from pancreatic cancer at age 76. The wills disagreed on which family members would control her estate, estimated at more than $80 million, prompting turmoil among Franklin’s children. A legal battle amounted to a trial at an Oakland County courthouse that started Monday and ended with a jury decision Tuesday.

The jury chose a will that was written in 2014 and found in Franklin’s couch months after her death, according to the Associated Press. It names Franklin’s niece Sabrina Owens and Franklin’s son Kecalf Franklin as co-executors of the estate. The will also states that Kecalf Franklin and his grandchildren will get his mother’s main home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., which was valued at $1.1 million when she died but which is worth much more today.

The older will, written in 2010 and found inside a cabinet in Franklin’s home, lists one of her other sons, Theodore White, and the niece, Owens, as co-executors of the estate. It also says Kecalf Franklin and her fourth son, Edward Franklin, “must take business classes and get a certificate or a degree” to benefit from the estate.

The 2014 will, which prevailed in court, does not mention such requirements for Kecalf and Edward.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.