Aretha Franklin's Will Was Found Under a Couch Cushion. A Jury Said It Counts.

Aretha Franklin died in 2018, and her family first believed she had no will. Then they found two. One in a locked cabinet, dated 2010. One in a spiral notebook under her couch cushions, dated 2014. Both handwritten. Her sons took opposite sides. In 2023, a Michigan jury ruled the notebook from the couch was her valid will. It took almost five years. The lesson for the rest of us: your papers only help your family if they can find them, and if there's only one version. Send this to the person who'd have to go looking. #ArethaFranklin #FamousEstates #EstatePlanning #Inheritance #Will