The wills estimate that Aretha’s estate was worth $80 million yet it’s unknown whether these handwritten wills are even admissible in court. Via Page Six;
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 are 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.
There still leaves a $6.3 million deficit of unpaid income tax Aretha’s estate needs to pay but her lawyer Bennet claims they’ve already started paying that money back.
“We have a tax attorney. All of her returns have been filed,” Bennett told the AP. “We have disputes with the IRS regarding what they claim was income. We claim it’s double-dipping income because they don’t understand how the business works.”
He added that Franklin had a lot of expenses whenever she toured.
“She had to pay for transportation, hotel rooms, backup singers, musicians. When she did that, the IRS was questioning the returns she filed,” Bennett said. “We’re going through audits. Returns were filed as timely as we could get them filed.”
With the revelation of these wills there may be some more troubling times up ahead for Aretha’s family, who are still mourning a great loss along with the rest of the world. And usually when it comes down to money and family things can get pretty nasty very quick. Hopefully that won’t be the case in this situation.
