Two handwritten wills from 2010 were found in a locked cabinet after a key was located, and another from 2014 was found in a notebook underneath some couch cushions.

The family of Aretha Franklin is headed to court over the three wills purportedly handwritten by the late singer.

Two of Franklin’s sons are opposing the admission of the wills. The documents are dated June 21, 2010; October 20, 2010 and March 31, 2014.

The scrawled papers, which are dated between 2010 and 2014, are at times barely legible, with cross-outs and marginal notes. Yet the documents, which the Franklin estate said it considers to be three separate wills, also lay out her intentions about distributing her assets after her death, including music royalties, real estate, jewellery and even a piano and stereo equipment.

The first document, dated June 2010, is the most extensive. Over 11 cramped pages, in which Ms. Franklin specified weekly and monthly allowances for her four sons, and appears to have signed every page.

By contrast, the last document, dated March 2014, is only four pages, and more simply divvies up her assets among her children and grandchildren.

The estate’s filing said it was unclear whether the documents satisfied Michigan’s requirements to be considered wills. Several legal experts polled by The New York Times were also divided.

If the wills are ruled invalid, then Ms. Franklin will have died without a will, and her four sons would receive equal shares of her estate, per Michigan law.

So, what are the lessons to be learned here? First and foremost, write a Will drafted by a professional and then store it securely.  Do not store it at home where it is open to damage from fire, theft, floods or pests or even maliciously damaged or destroyed and definitely do not store it under a cushion or down the back of a sofa!

So, what are the lessons to be learned here? First and foremost write a Will drafted by a professional and then store it securely.  Do not store it at home where it is open to damage from fire, theft, floods or pests or even maliciously damaged or destroyed and definitely do not store it under a cushion or down the back of a sofa!

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