Do not depend on the state or your relatives to honor your wishes after death. Write your will to transfer your property on your terms, protect your privacy, and mitigate potential bloodbaths over your estate. When Aretha Franklin died in 2018, her family thought she had no will.[1] In May of 2019, the personal representative of Aretha Franklin’s estate (Sabrina Owens) disclosed that three handwritten documents had been discovered at Aretha Franklin’s former home.[2] Now a Michigan judge must decide whether any of the newly discovered documents are valid wills. The series of handwritten wills could significantly alter the distribution of Aretha Franklin’s estate, replace Sabrina Owens as executor, and expose Aretha Franklin’s financial and personal details to the public.
If you die without executing a valid will, then you die intestate. When you die intestate, state law determines who inherits all your possessions; regardless of your wishes or the estate tax burdens such transfers may impose. Under most state intestacy laws, your estate will be split between your surviving spouse and children. According to Michigan law, the assets of an unmarried person who dies without a will are divided equally among his or her children. Because Aretha Franklin was assumed to have died intestate, her estate was split equally between her four living sons. Aretha Franklin’s newly discovered handwritten documents describe different and uneven asset distributions. If a court validates one of these “wills,” then Aretha Franklin’s children may no longer inherit equal shares of her estate. Despite the family provisions of most intestacy laws, the idea of the government distributing your property, without any regard to your express wishes, is not a highly desirable turn of events.
A will is a primary document in most estate planning. In a will, the testator (a person who makes a will) describes his or her plans to distribute his or her assets and identifies an executor (a person or organization that acts on behalf of the testator to manage assets) to administer the estate. Additionally, you could draft a will to designate a guardian for any of your minor children, or to appoint a personal representative for your estate. Under the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), and in most states, a will must be written or inscribed on something, signed by the testator (or someone else acting in the testator’s presence or under the testator’s orders), and attested by two trustworthy witnesses in the testator’s presence. The witnesses and the testator must all sign the will in the presence of each other. Such “formalities,” are necessary to create a valid will, and if ignored, may affect the transfer and control of your estate. If you are of sound mind and exercising free will, then you may amend or revoke your will at any time and for any reason. Handwritten wills signed by the testator, but not signed in the presence of two appropriate witnesses are known as holographic wills (such as the three handwritten documents discovered at Aretha Franklin’s home). These wills are recognized under the UPC, but are not legally binding in most states. Whether or not witnessed, a holographic will is valid in Michigan if it is dated, signed, and written in the testator’s handwriting. Aretha Franklin’s documents, which are dated between 2010 and 2014, “lay out her intentions about distributing her assets after her death, including music royalties, real estate, jewelry, and even a piano and stereo equipment.”[3] Even if one of Aretha Franklin’s supposedly handwritten documents is determined to be a valid will, the Michigan court may incorporate the other papers, in whole or in part, to determine Aretha Franklin’s intent for disposing of her assets and distribute them accordingly. For example, if a Michigan court recognizes the 2014 document as a valid will, then Aretha Franklin’s son Kecalf Franklin may replace Sabrina Owens as executor of the estate.[4]
Executing a valid will as part of proper estate planning is your best chance to make your wishes known to your heirs after death. The complicated process the Michigan court faces to validate Aretha Franklin’s holographic wills could have been abated had she executed a formal will. In Michigan, typically, wills are public records once validated by a court. Unfortunately, Michigan’s intestacy procedures require a public accounting of Aretha Franklin’s financial and personal details.
Aretha Franklin is not the only celebrity with an estate plagued by costly infighting and painful family conflict. Prince died without a will, and the resulting legal disputes cost his estate a multimillion-dollar music deal.[5] Appropriate estate planning could have efficiently administered the estate and asset transfers for both Aretha Franklin and Prince. Do you want the state, an angry spouse, or a haphazard allotment of relatives to dissect and distribute your business and property? Write your will to make your wishes clear, protect your privacy, and control the administration of your estate.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/22/arts/music/aretha-franklin-will.html.
[2] https://www.apnews.com/6ee0e5f7bd1946438ec9046944bddd60.
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/21/arts/did-aretha-franklin-leave-her-will-under-the-couch-cushion.html.
[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/24/arts/music/aretha-franklin-will.html.
[5]https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/13/business/media/prince-estate-distribution-deal-rescinded.html?emc=edit_nn_20170714&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=7008605&te=1&referer=&module=inline.
