Aretha Franklin's Sons Reportedly Working Together to Gain Control of Her Estate

Two sons of Aretha Franklin have teamed up to gain control of her estate accusing its current representative of mismanagement and keeping them in the dark. 

In light of the recovered wills of Aretha Franklin, her sons have joined forces in an attempt to take complete control of her estate.

IT ALL BEGAN WITH THE DISCOVERY OF HANDWRITTEN WILLS

It’s been reported a few weeks ago that three handwritten wills were discovered in the late Franklin’s Detroit home which revealed details on how she wished to allocate her assets.

The wills, two of which were dated 2010 and a third in 2014 specified the division of her assets among her three sons, Edward, Ted, and Kecalf, and also left specific instructions in caring for her fourth son, Clarence who has special needs.

KECALF MOVED TO UNSEAT FRANKLIN'S ESTATE REPRESENTATIVE

In response to the wills, Franklin's youngest son, Kecalf filed a motion in court, requesting for her current estate representative, Sabrina Owens to be replaced by him. He accused Owens of mismanagement of his mother’s estate and keeping him and his brothers in the dark about the estate’s accounting and inventory as well as business deals being negotiated including the television show, “Genius,” and an MGM biopic about the legendary singer’s life. 

He also claimed he knew nothing about an investigation over his mother’s music catalog or on the forgery of her checks as well as audits in relation to her IRS tax returns. 

Edward submitted documents backing up his brother and citing the wills as basis . He specified the 2014 will as proof that Kecalf should be appointed the head of the estate, per his mother’s wishes. 

OWENS DENIES KECALF'S ALLEGATIONS

Owens denied Kecalf’s allegations and insisted she’d been transparent in her job and doing it properly. She even blames the siblings for the delays in inventory which have yet to be done. She also claimed to inform the brothers about the business negotiations in relation to their mother’s estate. 

KECALF GETS SUPPORT FROM HIS BROTHER EDWARD

Following this conflict, Kecalf has now enlisted the support of his brother, Edward to strengthen his case against Owens. According to The Blast, Edward submitted documents backing up his brother and citing the wills as basis. He specified the 2014 will as proof that Kecalf should be appointed the head of the estate, per his mother’s wishes. 

In addition to that request, Edward also asked the court to bar Owens from selling any of his mother’s assets pending the decision regarding the possibility of Kecalf taking over. 

Franklin died in August due to a long battle with pancreatic cancer. It was believed she left no will at the time of her death. The handwritten wills recently recovered have yet to be validated by a judge. The examination is still ongoing.