Late American singer Aretha Franklin’s family in court over her N28.9bn fortune

- Late American legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin's family members are fighting over the estate she left behind less than a year after she died

- Franklin's son, Kecalf Cunningham, no longer wants her niece, Sabrina, to be the executor of her will and has gone to court to stop her

- Another family member, Theodore White II, has also gone to court as he wants to be named co-executor or personal representative alongside Sabrina

- Franklin died on August 16, 2018, and left behind an estate worth N28.9 billion

Late American legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin’s family are allegedly at loggerheads over who manages the singer's estate. The family are said to be locked in a court battle the late singer left a $80 million (N28.9 billion) estate.

Franklin died in August 2018, at the age of 76 after a battle with cancer without leaving a will to divide her assets among family or friends, neither did she declare the executor of her estate.

With seemingly no principle to guide on the sharing formula from the late singer before her death, her niece Sabrina Owens was made executor of the estate.

But according to TMZ, Aretha’s sons want to take control of the estate from Sabrina. One of the singer's sons Kecalf Cunningham pleads with a judge to grant a temporary restraining order against Sabrina. This will hinder her from taking decisions on behalf of the estate until the court decides whether she should have the authority permanently or not.

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Kecalf also allegedly accused Sabrina of selling off property, personal items and is spending his mother's money to advertise the items for sale. The singer's son also claimed his mother's niece also transferred one of his mother's cars to her name and received money on behalf of the estate.

While, the legal tussle between Kecalf and Sabrina was going on, another family member of the singer, Theodore White II, has engaged the services of some lawyers requesting that he be named co-executor or personal representative alongside Sabrina, Daily Mail reports.

Though it was widely reported that Aretha did not leave behind an official will, handwritten wills were allegedly found shortly after her death. The document from 2014 is said to show that Franklin named her son, Kecalf, to represent the estate. But it was also discovered that Theodore and Sabrina’s names were said to have been cancelled in the document after they appeared in a 2010 handwritten will.

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To ascertain who the rightful executor of the will should be, a judge will consider a request to have a handwriting expert examine the documents on August 6.

Franklin is survived by 4 children and leaves behind a legacy of classic hits.

Legit.ng had reported the passing away of the American gospel and soul singer Aretha Franklin on August 16, 2018. And she was buried like a queen that she really was in her lifetime.

Her performances have graced the likes of Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009 and she became the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in in 1987. She is survived by 4 children and leaves behind a legacy of classic hits. May her soul rest in perfect peace.

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Source: Legit.ng