Aretha Franklin “had no will” despite her $109 million fortune
She passed away last week after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 76, but it has been revealed that Aretha Franklin did not leave a will behind.
Worth a staggering US$80 million (AU$109 million) at the time of her death, the Queen of Soul died "intestate," which means she had no legally binding will prior to her death on August 16, according to documents obtained by TMZ.
"Aretha was ill for several years, but apparently did not see the end coming... or possibly a will was low on the priority list," reported TMZ.
Kenneth Silver, from the Hertz Schram law firm in Michigan, told People that it's highly likely she left behind a number of assets.
"I would expect that she has a house, probably a financial account of some kind – a brokerage account, stocks, bond, cash. She probably has investments of a wide variety, perhaps in real estate ventures, other businesses that she may own or have an interest in."
Silver also speculated that Franklin may have copyrights to her songs and that of other artists, as well as a collection of personal property, such as "Grammys, gold records, memorabilia from Motown years and onward."
According to Michigan law, where Franklin passed away, a deceased person's estate is to be equally divided among one's children.
Franklin has four sons – Clarence, Edward Franklin, 61, Ted White Jr, 54, Kecalf Cunningham, 48.
But as history shows us, non-immediate family members and possibly even friends may feel they deserve a share in Franklin’s estate.
"My expectation is that as much will be done behind closed doors as possible. It is the objective of the survivors of any deceased, whether it be Aretha Franklin or John Smith, to handle affairs as simply and quickly as you can," Silver said. "If you can avoid court proceedings, you want to avoid court proceedings. Sometimes you just can't do that…
"In my experience, the larger the estate, the more public the figure, the greater the likelihood that there is going to be an issue."