Aretha Franklin, “the Queen of Soul” died on August 16, at the age of 76, from pancreatic cancer. Similar to many other celebrities as we will describe in more detail in this article, a recent court filing revealed
that Franklin didn’t have a will (i.e., that she died intestate).
Franklin reportedly had amassed a fortune of tens of millions of dollars. While the extent of her life’s work is tremendous, one song more than any other epitomizes her cultural impact: “Respect,” her smash hit from 1967. Franklin’s lawyer, Don Wilson, has represented her in entertainment matters for nearly three decades. He said he constantly asked her to do a will or trust, but she never got around to it. According to Wilson, “I was
after her for a number of years to do a trust. It would have expedited things and kept them out of probate and kept things private.”
Wilson said that while he doesn’t have an exact dollar figure on the value of her assets, the lack of a Will means the finances will become public in Oakland County Probate Court. Franklin is not alone among the list of celebrities who died without a will. In the past, we
have covered some of these celebrity oversights on our blog. Here’s a recap of a few of the ones we discussed and other cases:
