A will found under Aretha Franklin's couch has been deemed official in court

When Franklin died from pancreatic cancer in August 2018, it was believed she had not prepared a will to her estate or to her music copyrights. A few months later, her niece Sabrina Owens - the estate's executor at the time - discovered two separate sets of handwritten documents at the singer's home in Detroit.

One version, dated June 2010, was found inside a locked desk drawer, along with record contracts and other documents, and a newer version, from March 2014, was found within a spiral notebook containing Franklin's doodles wedged beneath the living room sofa cushions.

A two-day trial pitted her family against each other in a battle over the two handwritten versions, in order to decide which will would be used to distribute her estate. The decision settles a dispute between Franklin’s sons Ted White II and Kecalf and Edward Franklin. White favoured the will drafted in 2010, testifying that his mother would typically have important documents prepared by a lawyer. Franklin did not have a formal, typewritten will, but under Michigan law any document authored by Franklin can be interpreted by the court as valid.

Aretha Franklin's family heads to court in estate battle https://t.co/3K4ZWZC64D

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Under the will now ruled valid, three sons would evenly split her music royalties and bank funds, while the youngest child Kecalf and his grandchildren would inherit his mother's primary residence, in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills.

The 2010 document meanwhile would see a more even distribution of Franklin's assets, but requires that Kecalf and another son Edward "must take business classes and get a certificate or a degree" in order to benefit from the estate.

The dispute between the wills is not completely resolved, as Oakland County Probate Judge Jennifer Callaghan instructed both parties to file briefs and attend a conference next week to determine whether some provisions of the 2010 will should be fulfilled.