What’s the Latest in Aretha Franklin’s Estate?

Now that numerous handwritten wills, which guarantee a trip into Probate Court, were discovered earlier in the year, the Queen of Soul’s son, Kecalf Franklin, has brought a legal action to gain control over his mother Aretha Franklin’s estate.  Another celebrity Estate Planning disaster headed to Probate Court.

This comes after a 2014 will, allegedly designated him as the person she wanted to be executor.

The Grio’s recent article, “Aretha Franklin’s youngest son files to take over control over her estate from her niece,” reports that Kecalf filed paperwork requesting that a Michigan probate judge remove Franklin’s niece Sabrina Owens, who’s now the estate’s representative.

However, the three wills found on Aretha’s property haven’t been authenticated. Kecalf claims that Owens has left Franklin’s heirs uninformed about his mother’s financial affairs, CNN reports.

To that end, Aretha Franklin’s son said he has yet to receive an inventory of his mom’s jewelry, master tracks, Grammys, gold records and other awards.

Kecalf also says that he hasn’t been told about the results of an investigation involving the value of Aretha’s musical catalog.

The attorneys for the singer’s estate reportedly believe that 49-year-old Kecalf doesn’t have the “ability, skill (and) knowledge” to be executor. The estate has filed its own response.

The estate’s legal counsel also argues that other family members don’t want Kecalf to assume control either and his filing is reportedly in “direct conflict” with what other family members wants, according to a report from CNN.

The 76-year-old music legend passed away last August after a battle with cancer.

The Grio (June 19, 2019) “Aretha Franklin’s youngest son files to take over control over her estate from her niece”