Thankfully, the family have accepted Michigan Law and her four sons are due to inherit an equal share of the fortune. There have been no signs of conflict.
In fact, following the funeral on Friday, the Franklin family seem more united than ever.
Ron Morten, Aretha Franklin’s friend and Michigan businessman, offered the Franklin family some advice, he said: “Remember your family, and friends that have been with you for years.
“Because you are about to meet a lot of people who will now want to be your new best friend. You will also meet some people that will have the best investments in the world for you. My advice? Go slow, be careful and be smart.”
The latest developments revolve around confusions regarding the valuation of Franklin’s estate. Franklin was notoriously distrusting of banks and music executives. She was famous within the music industry for being paid cash-in-hand for any performances.
With such an unorthodox method of accruing income, many are finding it problematic to put a precise figure on the estate’s total worth.
Despite earlier estimations that Franklin’s estate is worth around £62 million, exact figures are yet to be published. As with many probate cases, there will be different people, with different agendas, that will make grossly differing valuations.
Attorneys and those within the family will look to play down her wealth as a way to reduce potential tax. Conversely, the IRS will look to make a conservative estimation with a lucrative inheritance tax of 40% on any assets beyond an $11.2 million threshold.
Whilst Franklin is most famous for performing songs like ‘Respect’ and ‘I say a little prayer,’ they are the property of the writer. This will significantly reduce the overall figures of her estate as royalties for the songs do not belong to Franklin. However, she owned many obvious assets including a variety of Detroit based properties exceeding $2 million.
Don Wilson, Franklin’s lawyer for over 30 years, said: ‘I tried to convince her that she should do not just a will but a trust while she was still alive. She never told me, ‘No, I don’t want to do one.’ She understood the need. It just didn’t seem to be something she got around to.”
Although Franklin will soothingly ‘Say a little prayer’ that her estate is being divided peacefully between her children, the Governmental ‘Chain of fools’ looking to take a hefty slice of the estate will cast a hue of regret that more estate planning was not carried out.
How will the family be affected by Franklin’s Will omission and lack of estate planning? Is it possible to recoup any amounts owed in inheritance tax once the owner is deceased?
