Aretha Franklin Reportedly Died With $1M In Uncashed Checks

Written by @saywooord

Aretha Franklin had nearly $1 million in uncashed checks at the time of her death, according to newly filed court documents. 

Billboard reports the checks were found during an inventory of her possessions, adding a new twist to the battle of her estate. 

The inventory following her death found that Franklin had a check for $702,711.90 from Sound Exchange and Screen Writers Guild as well as uncashed checks to her publishing company, Springtime Publishing, from EMI, BMI, Carlin Music and Feel Good Films for $285,944.27. Both checks came out to a total of $988,656.17.

Franklin, 76, passed August 16, 2018, leaving behind four sons, Clarence, Edward, Teddy, and Kecalf. Apparently, no will was found, and under Michigan law, her estate was set to be divided equally between her children. However, nearly a year after her death, three handwritten wills, two from 2010 and one from 2014, were found in her home. 

If valid, the wills would change the distribution of her assets. Each of her sons has obtained their own legal teams, while the documents are under review by a handwriting expert. 

One of her sons tracked down the banks that issue her checks, according to court papers, there were multiple instances where checks had been uncashed since 2012 and had to be reissued in 2016.