Published on: 8th July 2024

What to Learn from Aretha Franklin’s Family Dispute over her Will

If you’re not familiar with the Aretha Franklin Will saga, handwritten “DIY” Wills were found in one of the soul singer’s homes, after it had been originally thought that she passed away without a Will resulting in her estate being split between her four children.

One of the Wills was dated 2010, one was dated 2014, both distributing her estate in different ways – the 2010 Will was split more equally between her four children, whereas the 2014 Will left a larger share to her youngest child. This discovery has resulted in a long family feud between her four sons.

Despite not being a UK case, the chain of events highlights the disadvantages of both “DIY” Wills and self-storage. Had the singer’s Will been written by a professional, the authenticity of the Will may not have been called into question so easily – there would have been a professional who could vouch for taking her instructions, internal notes on the conversations had with her and perhaps even telephone recordings. Her handwriting was one of the main points of argument when contesting the 2014 Will, which was discovered inside of her sofa, with her sons arguing that it was not their mother’s handwriting and that it was forged. The jury did eventually rule that the 2014 Will was valid, but the dispute does outline how important it is to ensure that your Will is properly attested and executed. Had Aretha Franklin also selected for a professional to store her Will, her Will may have been more easily locatable meaning that the estate would not have been distributed as if she had passed away intestate.

By writing your Will with a professional company, you have access to advice about how you can reduce the chances of your Will being successfully contested. Firstly, Aretha Franklin would have been advised to destroy the 2010 Will upon writing the 2014 Will to avoid any confusion over what her wishes really were. She also would have been told to write a letter to her executors, explaining why her youngest son was receiving the largest share of her estate. Another piece of advice given would be to not store her Will within the cushions of her sofa, and instead store it either somewhere safe, or with Casey & Associates, in our secure, fire-resistant units. There were also parts of Aretha Franklin’s self-written Will that were ambiguous. Namely who should inherit her fourth home, which resulted in the judge splitting it between her four sons. This may not have been what the singer wanted.  By writing a Will with a professional, you can be assured that the wording will be clear and precise and your wishes will be R-E-S-P-E-C-T-ed!

If you would like to speak with one of our Consultants to discuss any of the issues raised in this article or any other Estate Planning topic please telephone 01732 868190 or click here.

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