Judge deciding today if 3 found, hand-written wills of Aretha Franklin's are valid
PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - It has been nearly 10 months since the world lost the "Queen of Soul." When she first passed away, we were told she did not leave a will.
But that all changed a couple weeks ago when multiple handwritten wills were discovered in Aretha Franklin's home. On Monday, a judge will decide if those notes are valid.
A hearing is scheduled in Pontiac at 2 p.m. for a judge to look over the three handwritten notes that were found. One was found wedged in a couch cushion, and was dated March 31 of 2014. The other two were found locked in a cabinet and written in 2010.
We're told the wills are hard to decipher at times, with words scratched out and some even had notes in the margins. The wills apparently give Aretha Franklin's assets to her family. She leaves behind four sons, but we're also told one of the wills states that two of the sons must go to business school to get the inheritance.
In the 2014 document, Franklin says she wants a son, Christian rapper Kecalf Franklin, to serve as personal representative of the estate.
Aretha Franklin's sons last year agreed to have niece Sabrina Owens oversee the estate, but that was before the documents were found. Any change would require the approval of Judge Jennifer Callaghan.
Michigan's law gives great weight to the wishes of a decedent. The state appeals court last year said a man's final written words stored on a phone counted as a will.
"If it's clear and convincing evidence of your intentions, it's a perfectly valid document," said Patrick Simasko, an estate specialist. "The court wants to do everything in its power to fulfill the wishes of the person who passed away."
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The value of her estate is not yet known, although it could be worth millions of dollars. The judge approved the hiring of experts to appraise assets, including Franklin's music catalog, her likeness, concert gowns and memorabilia.
The estate's attorney, David Bennett said in a court filing that the Internal Revenue Service is auditing many years of Franklin's tax returns after making a claim for more than $6 million in taxes in December.
He said the estate is negotiating a contract with the TV series "Genius" and also working on a deal for a movie about Franklin's life.
The Associated Press contributed to this report