Aretha Franklin’s Handwritten Wills

14 Jul 2023 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:01

In this YouTube monologue, Jerry Taylor discusses how Aretha Franklin, despite her $80 million estate and lifelong access to lawyers, chose to handwrite her own wills—one discovered in a cabinet and another hidden behind her couch cushions. The couch‑found will, a holographic (unwitnessed) document, was contested in Michigan court. Under Michigan law, a holographic will does not require witnesses, and a jury ultimately ruled the document valid. Taylor uses the case to illustrate that even high‑profile celebrities can face estate‑planning pitfalls when they forgo professional drafting, and he stresses that employing a lawyer or establishing a trust would have prevented the dispute.

Chapters

Aretha Franklin was not only a fabulous singer, she also proved that celebrities are no different than the rest of us. Because even though she had an estate valued at about $80 million at the time she died and she had worked with lawyers throughout her lifetime, she handwrote her will twice. So even though she had lawyers at her beck and call, she never asked one of them to draw up a will or a trust to make sure her sons were protected. One of her handwritten wills was found in a cabinet. The other handwritten will was found behind the cushions of her couch. The one that was found in the couch was challenged and taken to court. Handwritten wills are also referred to as holographic wills. This will was signed by Aretha, but it was not witnessed. In Michigan, though, where the trial took place and Aretha lived, the law is that witnesses are not required. A jury recently determined that the will was valid. But Aretha could have avoided all of this if she'd only asked her lawyer to take care of it. And if she'd done a trust instead of a will,