topic Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎 in Community Chat

😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

Mz iMac — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:15:49 GMT

Aretha Franklin left behind three handwritten wills in her home

When soul legend Aretha Franklin died last summer, her family said she left no will divvying up her $80 million estate — it turns out she left behind three, including one tucked under a cushion in her living room , family lawyers revealed Monday.
Several handwritten wills were found in the superstar’s home outside of Detroit — nearly a year after she died of pancreatic cancer in August 2018, her estate’s attorney David Bennett said Monday.
Two of the wills from 2010 were found in a locked cabinet in the Queen of Soul’s house after a key to the dresser was discovered.
A third dating to 2014 — the most recent of the bunch from — was found under cushions in Franklin’s living room, the lawyer said.
Although some of the writing — which includes scratched-out text and notes in the margins — is hard to decipher, the documents appear to give her assets to her family members.
The wills were found earlier this month, the lawyer said, and family members previously believed she left no documents related to how her possessions should be divided up.
Bennett filed the wills in court on Monday, but he said he’s not sure if they legally binding under Michigan law. Two of her sons object to the wills, the family said in a statement. A hearing is set for June 12.
Franklin left behind an estimated $80 million estate.
The IRS said in December that the estate owed $6.3 million in unpaid income taxes, but Bennett said at the time it had paid at least $3 million of the debt.

Article from Apple News

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

chrystaltree — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:30:57 GMT

That's probably worse for potential heirs than if she had left no will at all. It amazes me that people who are so wealthy can be so clueless when it comes to their wills and their estates.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

goldensrbest — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:36:28 GMT

Wow, the un paid taxes!!

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

2blonde — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:38:06 GMT

@Mz iMac Wow. This will likely be tied up in court for years.......not good for anyone, except maybe the lawyers.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

Mominohio — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:40:11 GMT

@chrystaltree wrote:
That's probably worse for potential heirs than if she had left no will at all. It amazes me that people who are so wealthy can be so clueless when it comes to their wills and their estates.

I'm not sure it is clueless.

For some, it's a game. For others they don't care. Others are just obstinate and going to to whatever they want, some just not right minded.

I'm sure there are many old well off people who think they made their fortune, and so can their offspring, so don't care if they leave things in good order or not.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

ripka junkie — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:41:16 GMT

I "LOVED' Areytha Franklin, and her music.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

judy0330 — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:47:09 GMT

@Mominohio wrote:
@chrystaltree wrote:
That's probably worse for potential heirs than if she had left no will at all. It amazes me that people who are so wealthy can be so clueless when it comes to their wills and their estates.

I'm not sure it is clueless.

For some, it's a game. For others they don't care. Others are just obstinate and going to to whatever they want, some just not right minded.

I'm sure there are many old well off people who think they made their fortune, and so can their offspring, so don't care if they leave things in good order or not.

I would think that if somebody didn't want their children or others to inherit -- the way to do it would be by writing a will that was as ironclad as possible -- not by leaving a mess.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

CelticCrafter — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:50:28 GMT

I don't get it.

We just had new wills made up and the first paragraph revokes all previous wills and codicils. Do different rules apply to celebrities?

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

Financialgrl — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:58:59 GMT

@Mz iMac wrote:
Aretha Franklin left behind three handwritten wills in her home

When soul legend Aretha Franklin died last summer, her family said she left no will divvying up her $80 million estate — it turns out she left behind three, including one tucked under a cushion in her living room , family lawyers revealed Monday.
Several handwritten wills were found in the superstar’s home outside of Detroit — nearly a year after she died of pancreatic cancer in August 2018, her estate’s attorney David Bennett said Monday.
Two of the wills from 2010 were found in a locked cabinet in the Queen of Soul’s house after a key to the dresser was discovered.
A third dating to 2014 — the most recent of the bunch from — was found under cushions in Franklin’s living room, the lawyer said.
Although some of the writing — which includes scratched-out text and notes in the margins — is hard to decipher, the documents appear to give her assets to her family members.
The wills were found earlier this month, the lawyer said, and family members previously believed she left no documents related to how her possessions should be divided up.
Bennett filed the wills in court on Monday, but he said he’s not sure if they legally binding under Michigan law. Two of her sons object to the wills, the family said in a statement. A hearing is set for June 12.
Franklin left behind an estimated $80 million estate.
The IRS said in December that the estate owed $6.3 million in unpaid income taxes, but Bennett said at the time it had paid at least $3 million of the debt.

Article from Apple News

When dad had his will done - I went with him when he picked it up and I told dad I was glad he made the will. His lawyer said he didn't have one - he didn't care if his kids all fought over money or possessions - I was speechless but figured there must have been some back story in that family.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

goldensrbest — Tue, 21 May 2019 15:09:57 GMT

@Financialgrl wrote:
@Mz iMac wrote:
Aretha Franklin left behind three handwritten wills in her home

When soul legend Aretha Franklin died last summer, her family said she left no will divvying up her $80 million estate — it turns out she left behind three, including one tucked under a cushion in her living room , family lawyers revealed Monday.
Several handwritten wills were found in the superstar’s home outside of Detroit — nearly a year after she died of pancreatic cancer in August 2018, her estate’s attorney David Bennett said Monday.
Two of the wills from 2010 were found in a locked cabinet in the Queen of Soul’s house after a key to the dresser was discovered.
A third dating to 2014 — the most recent of the bunch from — was found under cushions in Franklin’s living room, the lawyer said.
Although some of the writing — which includes scratched-out text and notes in the margins — is hard to decipher, the documents appear to give her assets to her family members.
The wills were found earlier this month, the lawyer said, and family members previously believed she left no documents related to how her possessions should be divided up.
Bennett filed the wills in court on Monday, but he said he’s not sure if they legally binding under Michigan law. Two of her sons object to the wills, the family said in a statement. A hearing is set for June 12.
Franklin left behind an estimated $80 million estate.
The IRS said in December that the estate owed $6.3 million in unpaid income taxes, but Bennett said at the time it had paid at least $3 million of the debt.

Article from Apple News
When dad had his will done - I went with him when he picked it up and I told dad I was glad he made the will. His lawyer said he didn't have one - he didn't care if his kids all fought over money or possessions - I was speechless but figured there must have been some back story in that family.

Are you talking of your dad? Don't get your post.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

Equuleus — Tue, 21 May 2019 15:16:17 GMT

Could be so many reasons she did what she did. Only she will know. But this woman had issues with trust when it came to money. The way she carried her purse to her performances so she could get her payment and kept it by her side during her performances tells me that. I think she did the will thing to play games on people. Why make wills and hide them or put the under lock and key? Like others said, this will be dragged on for years and taking along with it all the family.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

goldensrbest — Tue, 21 May 2019 15:23:34 GMT

I wonder how generous she was to family during her lifetime? She certainly was very talented.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

Mominohio — Tue, 21 May 2019 15:30:11 GMT

@judy0330 wrote:
@Mominohio wrote:
@chrystaltree wrote:
That's probably worse for potential heirs than if she had left no will at all. It amazes me that people who are so wealthy can be so clueless when it comes to their wills and their estates.

I'm not sure it is clueless.

For some, it's a game. For others they don't care. Others are just obstinate and going to to whatever they want, some just not right minded.

I'm sure there are many old well off people who think they made their fortune, and so can their offspring, so don't care if they leave things in good order or not.
I would think that if somebody didn't want their children or others to inherit -- the way to do it would be by writing a will that was as ironclad as possible -- not by leaving a mess.

That mess can be seen as 'working' for it, in a sense. A kind of twisted, passive aggressive move, like let's not make it easy for them.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

cherry — Tue, 21 May 2019 15:31:36 GMT

Considering how she beat the odds, and how hard it is for anyone to do that. I think she did spectacularly well with her life

Lots of people die without a will, and she had 3 of them

People that knew her, said on TV ,what a kind and generous woman she was

Lots of stars have tax problems. She didn't die broke ,and never asked anyone for a handout, as far as I know

I certainly don't know anyone as rich as she was, nor as famous...Picking over her bones is sad ,because ,it ignores what she made of her life, all by herself, and she beat the odds that were loaded against her

God rest your Soul Aretha

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

mimomof4 — Tue, 21 May 2019 15:46:00 GMT

Considering how young she was thrown into adulthood and not having a good childhood at all, she was never effectively taught how to handle her money or handle legal matters. Unfortunately she had a reputation of not paying bills in our area. Considering that background its no wonder she had the same lawyer for 40 years and he had no clue. He was simply taking her money for all those years. She prbably spent her life surrounded by people who took advantage of her and her lack of education didn't help her.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

Maggie Nolia — Tue, 21 May 2019 16:44:41 GMT

How is it that the IRS allows some people to run up a tab of millions of dollars?

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

Financialgrl — Tue, 21 May 2019 17:56:02 GMT

@goldensrbest wrote:
@Financialgrl wrote:
@Mz iMac wrote:
Aretha Franklin left behind three handwritten wills in her home

When soul legend Aretha Franklin died last summer, her family said she left no will divvying up her $80 million estate — it turns out she left behind three, including one tucked under a cushion in her living room , family lawyers revealed Monday.
Several handwritten wills were found in the superstar’s home outside of Detroit — nearly a year after she died of pancreatic cancer in August 2018, her estate’s attorney David Bennett said Monday.
Two of the wills from 2010 were found in a locked cabinet in the Queen of Soul’s house after a key to the dresser was discovered.
A third dating to 2014 — the most recent of the bunch from — was found under cushions in Franklin’s living room, the lawyer said.
Although some of the writing — which includes scratched-out text and notes in the margins — is hard to decipher, the documents appear to give her assets to her family members.
The wills were found earlier this month, the lawyer said, and family members previously believed she left no documents related to how her possessions should be divided up.
Bennett filed the wills in court on Monday, but he said he’s not sure if they legally binding under Michigan law. Two of her sons object to the wills, the family said in a statement. A hearing is set for June 12.
Franklin left behind an estimated $80 million estate.
The IRS said in December that the estate owed $6.3 million in unpaid income taxes, but Bennett said at the time it had paid at least $3 million of the debt.

Article from Apple News
When dad had his will done - I went with him when he picked it up and I told dad I was glad he made the will. His lawyer said he didn't have one - he didn't care if his kids all fought over money or possessions - I was speechless but figured there must have been some back story in that family.
Are you talking of your dad? Don't get your post.

@goldensrbest Was there with dad picking up his will and it was the lawyer who said that he (lawyer) never made a will - let his kids fight over things. I thought that a strange comment being made by a man whose living was preparing wills to avoid family issues.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

Mz iMac — Tue, 21 May 2019 19:10:41 GMT

@Maggie Nolia wrote:
How is it that the IRS allows some people to run up a tab of millions of dollars?

More than likely, she was paying it off in installments when alive.

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

Mz iMac — Tue, 21 May 2019 19:13:50 GMT

@CelticCrafter wrote:
I don't get it.

We just had new wills made up and the first paragraph revokes all previous wills and codicils. Do different rules apply to celebrities?

Each state has their own rules regarding wills. Ree Ree's domicile state was Michigan. You can Google that state's rules regarding "wills."

Re: 😎 Not 1 but 3 wills found! 😎

tsavorite — Tue, 21 May 2019 20:07:26 GMT

@Mz iMac wrote:
@Maggie Nolia wrote:
How is it that the IRS allows some people to run up a tab of millions of dollars?
More than likely, she was paying it off in installments when alive.

But WHY? I mean if you have millions and millions of dollars why don't you simply pay your taxes each yr at tax time? That's what we do each yr....if not I believe the IRS adds on penalties and such over time. So she had 80 million but let 6 million go unpaid?? I could understand it if it were me....I do not have 6 million and could never pay it!