Nearly four years had passed before Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, died at 76 from pancreatic cancer. Her fortune was valued at $80 million. Poor estate planning has meant that the singer’s children have not seen a dime from their inheritance. What they do get will be greatly reduced by back taxes. It’s not known if Aretha had a valid will.
Her family believed Aretha had died without an estate plan when she passed away in August 2018. Four wills that were attributed to Aretha have since been found. Since then, her four adult children, Edward, Ted White Jr., and Kecalf, have been fighting each other over her assets. They also want to determine who should be named the estate representative.
Although a trial date is unclear (possibly due to delays in covid), Aretha’s story shows how devastating poor estate planning can be for loved ones.
Although her will shows that Aretha cared about her family’s well-being and asked them to share her fortune with them, Aretha’s chaotic planning led to brother against brother, revealing dark family secrets and costing the IRS millions. Worst of all, even though Aretha was a well-known singer, this has been exposed in the headlines for all to see.
Sadly, Aretha’s tragic situation is not uncommon among musicians like Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, and Prince. We share her story and other similar stories in the hope that it will encourage you to make a proper estate plan for your loved ones.
Even if you are not as wealthy as Aretha, such planning is crucial. Planning can even be more important for those with fewer assets. Given Aretha’s wealth, it is likely that her heirs will receive an inheritance. However, similar mistakes could wipe out smaller estates.
This is why we will discuss Aretha’s planning errors and how they have affected her fortune and family. We’ll then discuss how planning could have prevented this mess and then outline the steps you can follow to ensure that your loved ones don’t have to suffer such an awful experience.
THREE WILLS, A SOFA, AND A NOTEBOOK
Aretha died from pancreatic cancer at her Detroit home, as reported in 2018. It was widely believed that she didn’t have any will at the time. Michigan law provided that her assets would be split equally between her four adult children. They agreed to name their cousin, Franklin’s niece Sabrina Owens, as executor of the estate.
Sabrina found three handwritten wills in Aretha’s home nine months after her death. Hour Detroit magazine reports that the documents, two of which date back to 2010, were found in a locked cupboard, and the third was written in a spiral notebook under her sofa cushions. They contain conflicting instructions about how she would like her assets divided and who she wanted to be her executor.
Aretha’s handwritten 2010 copies will provide regular allowances for her four sons and specific assets. These documents also named Ted and Sabrina as executors. However, the 2014 version allows for a simpler division in equal shares of her assets between her three youngest children. It also leaves it up to Clarence to decide how much money he should get.
Clarence, Aretha’s first child, has unspecified disabilities. He is currently 66 years of age and has lived in a group house near Detroit for many decades. Clarence has his own court-appointed attorney.
According to Hour Detroit, Aretha also reportedly made 2014 will the names of Ted, Sabrina and Kecalf, but then apparently left out the first two names. Kecalf was appointed executor of the estate after the wills were discovered.
Ted and Clarence’s attorney fought against the move. Clarence’s attorney stated in court that Kecalf was not qualified to serve as executor because he “hasn’t demonstrated any ability or inclination to support himself and lacks financial knowledge or ability to act like a fiduciary.”
FAMILY SECRETS COME TO LIFE
According to NBC News, Aretha’s handwritten wills revealed a previously undiscovered fact about Clarence’s father; Clarence Franklin was born to Aretha Franklin when she was only 12 years old. The singer never spoke out about her private life. Donald Burk, Clarence’s school friend, was said to have been Clarence’s father until recently.
One of the 2010 handwritten wills names Clarence’s father, Edward Jordan Sr., in one of their wills. This is also the father of Aretha’s second son Edward, who was born at the same time as her. Although little is known about Jordan’s life, Aretha states in her will that he was a horrible father and should not be entitled to anything from her estate.
The purported document’s sixth page contained Aretha’s words: “His dad, Edward Jordan Sr., should never receive or manage any money or property that Clarence has, or that Clarence receives. He has never contributed to Clarence’s welfare, future, or past.” Both instances had the “never” underlined.
Sabrina quit her position as executor after the court battle between their brothers. Sabrina, who noted that the family feud was not what Aretha would have preferred for them, filed her resignation to the court in January 2020. “With Sabrina gone,” Oakland County Probate Court Judge Jennifer Callaghan appointed Reginald Turner as temporary personal representative of the estate. Turner is a Detroit attorney who was a long-time friend of Aretha.
A hearing was also set for June 2020 by the judge to decide whether any of the three handwritten wills could be considered valid. A handwritten or holographic will can be valid under Michigan law, provided it meets three requirements regardless of whether it is handwritten or holographic.
A FOURTH WILL APPEARED
The judge had set up a trial to determine the validity of the wills in the summer of 2020. However, due to the pandemic, that trial was delayed, and, in the meantime, another will was discovered.
According the New York Times, the most recent version of her will was filed in probate court by Clarence and Ted in March 2021. It included an eight-page document titled “The Will Of Aretha Franklin,” along with 23 additional pages that reportedly set out the terms for Clarence’s trust. They are marked “draft” with no signatures.
Reports show Aretha created the latest will in 2018 with Dickinson Wright. This would make it the oldest. According to court filings, Aretha hired Henry Grix, a Detroit lawyer, to help her with her estate planning. The filing also includes correspondence between Grix, Aretha, and Grix that dates back to 2017.
The fourth draft of Clarence’s will would create trust for Clarence. It would divide her remaining assets equally among her three sons and leave certain assets to her family members. The will also state that her three youngest sons shall be the estate’s representatives. They would be able to make decisions about the music rights, likeness, and name of the singer.
Clarence and Ted’s lawyers said that the documents showed that Aretha had hired Grix, had been in talks with him for over two years, and that the documents contained her initials. The singer passed away after becoming too ill to finish the discussions on “a few items.”
It is unclear how these documents were obtained or why they took so long to become public. Although the court filing stated that the documents were found “late in 2019”, Clarence’s lawyer told the New York Times the date was incorrect and that he received the document in December 2020 as a response to a subpoena.
Ted petitioned the court to recognize Aretha’s will draft and accompanying notes, even though the fourth will was not signed. He cites a Michigan law that allows the “intent to recognize” a deceased person even if execution is not perfect. “
The judge set a trial date for August 2021 in light of the new will. This will determine whether any documents found can be considered valid wills and thus govern the Queen of Soul’s estate. This trial is not yet known.
INADEQUATE PLANNING
All the versions of Aretha’s will clear that she cared deeply for her sons and other relatives. She wanted her family to be able to enjoy her wealth and other assets. Even though she made her first attempts at planning, then lost or forgotten about, Aretha didn’t take the job seriously enough, at least not in the beginning.
The discovery of Aretha’s fourth will indicates that Aretha was serious about creating a formal plan for her last years. However, it is puzzling why Clarence’s version of her will, and the instructions to set up a trust, weren’t discovered earlier. If the New York Times report proves accurate, these documents were only discovered in response to a subpoena. They were also incomplete and unsigned and, in our opinion, not adequate for an estate this large and complex.
As discussed in the second part, Aretha’s estate still owes millions of back taxes, even if Aretha’s fourth will is ruled valid. The IRS stated that Aretha’s estate owed $7.8million in back taxes, interest, and income taxes when she died in 2018. The sons have made a deal with the IRS to receive small cash payments from their mother’s estate and to make payments to the IRS.
Add to that the huge tax liability and all the other problems that plague her loved ones, and Aretha could’ve done a better job with estate planning. The proper planning would have allowed Aretha’s loved ones immediate access to her assets after her death. This would have avoided the need for court involvement and kept the terms and contents of her estate completely private.
A truly effective plan would also have provided Clarence with a lifetime of financial support. Clarence has special needs and will probably need financial support throughout his life. It would have done this without excluding Clarence from vital government support, which is crucial for people with special needs. Contact us if you have a loved person with special needs to discuss the unique strategies involved in estate planning for people with special needs.
In part two of this series, we will discuss Aretha’s poor estate planning, resulting in a huge tax bill for her family. We’ll also talk about how Aretha could have avoided this liability and all the issues her heirs currently face by using proactive estate planning.
Be sure to contact a trusted estate planning attorney near you to discuss your estate matters.