Aretha Franklin (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Following the Queen of Soul’s death in August 2018, I wrote a column, Say A Little Prayer, about Aretha Franklin’s $80 million fortune that was to be distributed without the guidance of a last will and testament, as none was located at the time of her passing. As such, it was thought that the estate would be distributed in accordance with Michigan’s intestate laws. The column’s title was good-hearted advice (and a play on one of the Queen’s best songs), as estate administration without a last will is often difficult.
Nine months following Franklin’s passing, our trusts and estates prayers have been answered. Not one, not two, but three handwritten last wills and testaments, purportedly executed by Franklin, have been discovered in her Pontiac, Michigan house. The documents were located prior to the residence’s impending sale. Two of the documents were dated 2010 and found in a locked cabinet, and one, from 2014, was discovered in a spiral notebook under a couch cushion. The documents appear to be in Franklin’s handwriting and reportedly bear notes in the margins and some scribbles as well.
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The three purported last wills and testaments have been filed with the Oakland County, Michigan, probate court. Attorneys for Sabrina Garrett Owens, Franklin’s niece and the personal representative of the estate, have asked the court to determine the last wills’ validity under Michigan law. A hearing is scheduled for June 12, 2019. Meanwhile, Kecalf Frankin, a son, has requested that the court freeze the sale of the decedent’s house as a result of the discovery of the new wills. One of the wills appoints him as the personal representative and bequeaths the house to him.
Handwritten or holographic wills often pose issues as to their validity. Some states accept them as valid, including Michigan, so long as the document can be authenticated by additional proofs including the testatrix’s handwriting.
Although the discovery of a decedent’s last will is generally considered a good thing, in this case, it would seem to complicate matters. As the three documents are handwritten, and the dispositive provisions may vary, the court will need to determine which document, if any, governs the control and distribution of the estate.
Although Franklin was known for her privacy, couch cushions and dresser drawers do not seem appropriate locations for housing a last will, nor does it befit a woman who was buried in Christian Louboutin heels. The lesson is that if you actually write a last will and testament, it must be properly safeguarded. This means it should be held in a safe that is waterproof and fireproof or with one’s attorney. Often bank safe deposit boxes are frozen (even with joint owners) upon one’s death. A last will, especially one with burial instructions, is of little use if it cannot be retrieved immediately upon a death.
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The court now has three estate plans in addition an intestate plan to sort through. Fiduciaries have been appointed and professionals have been retained. It would behoove all beneficiaries involved to settle this matter to avoid time and expense.
I maintain that given Franklin’s known desire for privacy and the apparent hiding of the last wills and testament, she would have benefited from the establishment and funding of a revocable trust in lieu of a last will. During her lifetime, Franklin could have transferred all of her assets to a trustee and the provisions as to her wishes upon her death would be known pursuant to the trust agreement. There would be no lost keys, hidden notebooks, or needless applications to the court.
Reportedly, Franklin’s last wills begin with the classic statement of capacity, common to many last wills and testaments: “…being in sound mind and physical health.” One allegedly includes a qualifying statement: “with the exception of high blood pressure, a mass on the pancreas, diabetes …” To me, this extra quip shows that Franklin gave thought to her estate plan. As such, she should have safeguarded the document that she thought of as her last will and testament and treated it with the same importance that she, her family, and her legacy deserve. We all should THINK about this when we execute our own estate planning documents.
Cori A. Robinson is a solo practitioner having founded Cori A. Robinson PLLC, a New York and New Jersey law firm, in 2017. For more than a decade Cori has focused her law practice on trusts and estates and elder law including estate and Medicaid planning, probate and administration, estate litigation, and guardianships. She can be reached at [email protected].