A handwritten will found under Aretha Franklin’s couch cushions has been declared valid by a Michigan jury. The “Queen of Soul” died in 2018 at the age of 76.
The six-person Oakland County probate court jury deliberated for less than an hour to determine that the 2014 handwritten will is valid, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Judge Jennifer Callaghan will now have to determine whether the handwritten document replaces an official 2010 will, previously determined to be valid, in whole or in part only.
The dispute between the two versions of the will pitted Franklin’s son, Ted White II, who played in his mother’s band under the professional name Teddy Richards and favors the 2010 document, against his brothers Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin.
“We won, thank you Lord,” Kecalf Franklin wrote in a Instagram post after the decision.
After the decision, Richards shared recordings of a voice message from 2018 of his mother revoking all previous wills.
“Despite the decision of the court not to authorize this recording, it is its true intention”, he contested.
Richards’ lawyers had argued that the 2010 will was locked away, unlike the handwritten will found in sofa cushions. Lawyers for his brothers argued that the 2014 will was still valid because it was signed by the singer.
“I am very, very happy. I just wanted my mother’s wishes to be respected,” Kecalf Franklin said after the decision, The Associated Press reported. “We just want to expire right now. It has been five long years for my family, my children.
The main differences between the two wills relate to a provision in the 2014 will that would give Aretha’s home in Bloomfield Hills to Kecalf Franklin and his grandchildren.
The 2010 will called for an equal distribution of Franklin’s entire estate – which includes property, cars, furs, instruments and jewelry, as well as royalties from his music – but required that Kecalf and Edward take business courses or get a degree to benefit from it. The 2014 will did not have this stipulation.
Despite the feud in court, the brothers denied that there was any animosity between them, the New York Times reportedRichards stating that they were “as close as three old men can get”.
“I love my brother with all my heart,” Kecalf said of Richards.
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