When Aretha Franklin died in 2018 at 76 of pancreatic cancer, she left behind a genre-defining legacy and an estate worth an estimated $80 million. It was believed that Franklin had died without a will, meaning that her four sons were expected to evenly share her assets.
Who is Clarence Franklin Jr father?
Edward Jordan is the father of two of Franklin’s sons.
At age 12, the music legend gave birth to her first child, Clarence, in 1955.
She originally claimed the father was a schoolmate, yet in the wills she reportedly had handwritten, she refers to Edward Sr. as his father.
Two years after Clarence’s arrival, Aretha had another son at age 14.
The child was named after his father, Edward.
Little is known about Jordan and the role he played in his children’s lives, as Aretha’s grandmother, Rachel, and her sister, Erma, took the toddlers on as her success soared.
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Edward Jordan is the father of Aretha’s two eldest sons, Clarence (pictured) and Edward JrCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Jordan was described as a « player » who Franklin once knew in David Ritz’s 2014 biography, ‘Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin’.
She then had two more sons as a result of other relationships.
After her death on August 16, 2018, her family released a statement that read, « In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart.
« We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family.
Was Aretha Franklin a Millionaire?
Aretha Franklin’s Estate Is Worth $80 Million. What Happens Now?
The Queen of Soul didn’t have a will. And if Prince is any precedent, what happens next could be a legal mess
In the two weeks since the death of Aretha Franklin, the world has grieved, mourned and offered outpourings of love in a day-long public funeral that drew everyone from fellow artists to religious leaders to former presidents. While Franklin’s formidable legacy and impact is certain, however, the fate of her estate might end up a more contentious matter.
That’s because she died without leaving a will. The Queen of Soul — who was one of the best-selling musical artists of all time with more than 75 million records sold worldwide, to say nothing of her 18 Grammy Awards or numerous other accolades attesting to artistic force — reportedly had a net worth of around $80 million. Under the law in Michigan for deaths without a will, the state where Franklin lived and died, her estate should be evenly divided among her four adult sons: Ted White Jr.
Was Aretha Franklin in debt?
When Aretha Franklin passed away in 2018, her heirs were left with an estate estimated to be worth $80 million1. Before any of them could access that money, however, the estate had to resolve Franklin’s longstanding debt to the Internal Revenue Service. In July, the estate announced that it had finally paid off the delinquent balance of $7.8 million.2
Franklin was the latest celebrity whose heirs were left to battle the IRS. Franklin failed to pay taxes owed for income she earned during her lifetime. While the Internal Revenue Service cannot collect delinquent taxes of a deceased taxpayer from heirs, it can collect from the decedent’s estate. In 2021, the IRS and the estate struck a deal that provided for an immediate $800,000 payment, as well as 45% of the estate’s quarterly income being used to pay down the remaining balance.3
Other celebrity estates that have faced off with IRS in recent years include the estates of Michael Jackson and Prince. In those cases, the dispute related to the value of the estate and the amount of estate tax owed.
Why did Aretha Franklin get paid in cash?
Franklin’s cash-only process stemmed from her observations of the music business during her early days, when black singers were underpaid and often cheated out of royalties.
“It’s the era she grew up in—she saw so many people, like Ray Charles and B. B. King, get ripped off,” Smiley told The New Yorker. “There is the sense in her very often that people are out to harm you. And she won’t have it. You are not going to disrespect her.”
In fact, the songwriter even had demands for how she was to get the money. In a contract published by The Smoking Gun dating back to 2010, Franklin’s team requested that promoters physically hand her $25,000 in cash. It was fine for them to write a check for the rest of her fee.
« It is understood that this money shall be presented by the promoter or the designated person, directly to Ms. Franklin, » the rider states. « No one other than Ms. Franklin is to be given payment in any form on her behalf unless prior written authorization is received. »
But Franklin didn’t simply pocket the cash. In the 2014 book Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin, talent agent Dick Alen revealed that she used the money delivered at her shows to pay her staff. And he said it happened off the books.
« She deducted no taxes and made no records.
Why was Reverend Franklin shot?
who debuted his “I Have A Dream” speech. In 1957, Franklin supported the formation of the Trade Union Leadership Council, a caucus of dissident African American members of the United Auto Workers.
The Rev. Franklin was not without faults and had some brushes with the law, including for drunk driving, drug charges, and failure to file income tax. On June 10, 1979, Franklin was shot twice during an attempted robbery at his home in Detroit. He remained in a coma for five years until his death on July 27, 1984.
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How much money did Aretha Franklin leave?
When Aretha Franklin died in 2018 at 76 of pancreatic cancer, she left behind a genre-defining legacy and an estate worth an estimated $80 million.
It was believed that Franklin had died without a will, meaning that her four sons were expected to evenly share her assets. But several months after her death, the family discovered two handwritten wills at her Detroit home — one found inside a cabinet and another in a notebook, sandwiched beneath cushions.
The dueling wills agree on one thing: All four of her sons will share the profits of their mother’s estate, such as ongoing earnings from her recordings. However, the wills offer conflicting information about which family members will control her estate, prompting turmoil among Franklin’s children.
Now, a jury will get to decide which will is valid as the case heads to a trial on Monday, according to court records reviewed by The Times. Judge Jennifer Callaghan, who has overseen the court battle within the family over the previous four years, will preside over the case.
The older will, written in 2010, lists one of her sons, Theodore White, and a niece, Sabrina Owens, as co-executors of the estate.
Who are the famous pastors in Detroit?
The prominent pastors include: Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, Bishop Corletta Vaughn, Pastor Tim Alden, Pastor David Bullock, Bishop-Elect Clarence Langston, Pastor Don William Shelby Jr. and Evangelist Dorinda Clark-Cole.
What happened in Detroit in 1969?
On March 29, 1969, around a dozen armed officers from the Detroit Police Department invaded the New Bethel Baptist Church and arrested 142 African Americans gathered for the national convention of the Republic of New Africa (RNA), a black nationalist organization that had been infiltrated by the FBI and was also under …
How accurate is the movie respect?
Biopics ain’t Wikipedia entries. Lives never conform to a tidy narrative arc — even one as dramatic as Aretha Franklin’s. With Respect, screenwriter Tracey Scott Wilson and director Liesl Tommy did an admirable job condensing 20 years of the Queen of Soul’s tumultuous life into a mere two-and-a-half hours. Thanks to some impressive research and Jennifer Hudson’s captivating performance as the late icon, the film treats viewers to a host of her most transformative moments. You’re in the studio as Franklin finds the groove for her breakthrough hit, “I’ll Never Love a Man (The Way That I Love You).” You’re in the front row as she blows the roof off Madison Square Garden with “Respect.” You’re backstage as she prepares to record her landmark live album, Amazing Grace. The career highlights are all there … but naturally, there were some moments in the movie that strayed from reality. Timelines are skewed, characters are condensed, and fibs are told out of, well…respect. Read on as we separate fact from fiction. [Spoilers Ahead!]
‘Respect’: Aretha’s Music Carries This Biopic
The father of Franklin’s first child remains a mystery.
Respect opens as 10-year-old Franklin (played by Skye Dakota Turner) is roused from her bed and led downstairs to sing at a house party hosted by her father, Rev. C.L. Franklin, the so-called “Man with the Million-Dollar Voice” whose fiery sermons had made him a Detroit celebrity. Guests such as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Art Tatum and Sam Cooke drink, smoke, cuss, and generally raise hell as the little girl performs for their amusement. The scene establishes Franklin’s mature talent but also hints at the adult world in which she came of age. (Ray Charles, no stranger to debauchery, would describe Rev. Franklin’s traveling ministry as a “sex circus.”) Later, during another party, Franklin is awoken by a grown man who enters her room and offers to be her “boyfriend.” Through a series of flashbacks, it’s implied that Franklin was raped, resulting in a pregnancy.
In reality, Franklin gave birth to her first son when she was 12 years old. Named Clarence, his father has never been known for certain. For years, rumors circulated that an adult family friend was responsible — an allegation the family has repeatedly denied. The singer herself never named her son’s father publicly, but in her 1999 memoir From These Roots, she said he was a boy she met at a local skating rink. (She refers to him only as “Romeo.”) Journalist David Ritz, who co-wrote Franklin’s memoir and also penned an unauthorized 2014 biography on the singer, wrote that Clarence’s father was a classmate of Franklin’s named Donald. Circumstances were further muddied when a will, purportedly handwritten by Franklin, surfaced after her death. The document names Clarence’s father as Edward Jordan Sr.
What was Aretha Franklin’s worth at death?
« We just want to exhale right now. It’s been a long five years for my family, my children. »
Aretha Franklin was a global star for decades, known especially for hits like « Think, » « I Say a Little Prayer » and « Respect. »
Aretha Franklin did not leave behind a formal, typewritten will when she died five years ago at age 76.
The singer reportedly had a net worth of $80 million when she died. But the estate now has assets totaling less than $6 million, according to a report by the BBC.
But documents, with scribbles and hard-to-decipher passages, emerged in 2019 when a niece scoured the home for records.
In closing arguments, lawyers for Kecalf and Edward Franklin said the fact that the 2014 papers were found in a notebook in couch cushions did not make them less significant.
« You can take your will and leave it on the kitchen counter. It’s still your will, » Charles McKelvie told the jury.
Another lawyer, Craig Smith, pointed to the first line of the document, which was displayed on four large posters in front of the jury.
« Says right here: ‘This is my will.’She’s speaking from the grave, folks, » Smith said of Franklin.
Kecalf and Edward had teamed up against brother Ted White II, who favored the 2010 will. White’s attorney, Kurt Olson, noted the earlier will was under lock and key.
Did Jennifer Hudson use her own voice in Respect?
Is Jennifer Hudson really playing piano and singing in ‘Respect’?
11 August 2021, 18:20
Is Jennifer Hudson really playing piano and singing in ‘Respect’? Picture: Universal Pictures
Here’s the musical training it took for Jennifer Hudson to embody the Queen of Soul.
Aretha Franklin had the voice of a generation. But she was also a natural session pianist, and her approach to the instrument was always as deep-felt and spiritual as her vocal executions.
This year, actor Jennifer Hudson has the titanic task of depicting the Queen of Soul on screen in new biopic Respect, out Friday 13 August.
And as well as shaping her vocal cords for the moment, Jennifer Hudson also learned piano for the film.
Which was better genius or Respect?
Respect sometimes seemed choppy and there are scenes that were featured in Genius that would have been better explored in Respect. Respect was once a 3 hour film cut down to 2 hours and 25 minutes, but it would have better with more time. Genius had plenty of time to tell its story, but some parts lingered on events a bit too long.
Hudson delivers a surprisingly subdued performance compared to the strong presence Franklin displayed in life. Hudson masters more of Franklin’s natural instinct and wisdom into music as she navigates the music industry from her early misses to her meteoric success from Franklin’s version of the hit song, Respect (which is an Otis Retting song that Franklin undoubtedly made her own).
Both Respect and Genius: Aretha Franklin feature epic casts. A notable portrayal was that of the young version of Franklin, portrayed by Skye Dakota Turner in Respect. Turner possessed more of the charm, spunk, and valor that Aretha was known for. It is easy to see Aretha has a song in her heart from the very first scene, especially due to director Liesl Tommy’s vivid cinematography. Marc Maron delivers an amazing performance as legendary and steadfast music manager Jerry Wexler though the part is not a great departure from other roles he has delivered over the years.
Did Aretha Franklin help with the movie Respect?
Imagine Aretha Franklin looking you in the face and saying that. »The two became close friends and continued to speak on a regular basis up until Aretha’s death in 2018. -EW.com
The real Aretha Franklin wanted Jennifer Hudson to portray her in the movie and was involved in the production up until her death in 2018.
Photo: Jennifer Hudson InstagramDid Aretha Franklin get to see the movie before her death?While Aretha Franklin was involved in the development of the Respect movie and did handpick Jennifer Hudson to portray her, she died more than a year before filming began in Atlanta on September 2, 2019. Aretha’s cousin and niece gave Hudson pointers on the set.How did Aretha Franklin die?
The Queen of Soul succumbed to pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer on August 16, 2018. She was 76. She is thought to have been first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2010. That is the year she underwent surgery for neuroendocrine tumors.
How does Jennifer Hudson feel about the National Geographic series Genius: Aretha starring Cynthia Erivo?
Aretha Franklin’s family blasted the Nat Geo biopic, claiming that they weren’t contacted for their input and approval. Jennifer Hudson echoed their sentiments with a more subtle response. « I know that Aretha was adamant that [her life] be a film. If it’s not a film, it’s nothing. I’m just honored that she picked me to play her. I mean, who can say that? And again, I would have never done it without her wishes. »-EW.com
Aretha Franklin Performances & Related Videos
Learn more about the true story behind the Respect movie by watching the Aretha Franklin performances and interview below. Also, watch Jennifer Hudson perform for Aretha at her tribute concert.
Who did Aretha Franklin leave her money to when she died?
As a result, Michigan law stipulated her assets would be divided equally among her four adult sons, and they agreed to designate their cousin—Franklin’s niece, Sabrina Owens—as the estate’s executor.
But in May 2019, nine months after Aretha’s death, Sabrina discovered three different handwritten wills while cleaning out the late singer’s home. According to Hour Detroit magazine, the three documents—two of which were dated from 2010 and found in a locked cabinet and one dated from 2014 was scribbled in a spiral notebook found under her sofa cushions—contain conflicting instructions for how the singer wanted her assets divided and whom she wanted as her executor.
The 2010 copies of Aretha’s handwritten will provide for regular allowances for all four sons and leave specific assets to each of them. Those documents also name Sabrina and her son Ted as executors. The 2014 version, however, provides for a simpler division of her assets in equal shares between her three youngest sons, and it leaves the decision as to how much money their older brother, Clarence, should receive up to his three brothers.
Clarence, Aretha’s first child, has unspecified special needs, and he is currently 66 years old and has lived in a group home near Detroit for decades. Clarence is represented by his own court-appointed attorney.
Furthermore, in her 2014 will, Aretha reportedly wrote the names of Sabrina, Ted, and Kecalf as executors, but then apparently crossed out the first two names, according to Hour Detroit. Given this, when the three wills were discovered, Kecalf filed in court to be appointed as the estate’s executor.
However, Ted and the attorney for Clarence, fought against this move. In a court filing, Clarence’s attorney noted that Kecalf isn’t fit to be the executor, as he has not “displayed any ability or inclination to support himself and lacks the financial knowledge or ability to act as a fiduciary.”
Family Secrets Come to Light In addition to causing infighting between the brothers, Aretha’s handwritten wills also disclosed a previously unknown fact about Clarence’s father, according to a report by NBC News. Aretha gave birth to Clarence Franklin in 1955, when she was just 12 years old. The late singer rarely discussed her personal life in public, and up until recently, Clarence’s father was reported to be a friend of Aretha’s from school, named Donald Burk.
However, one of the handwritten wills from 2010 names Clarence’s father as Edward Jordan Sr., who’s also the father of Aretha’s second son, Edward, who was born when she was 14. Little is known about Jordan, but in the will, Aretha makes it clear that he was a terrible father and should get nothing from her estate.
On page six of the purported document, Aretha wrote, “His father, Edward Jordan Sr.
Who did Aretha Franklin have a child with at 12?
Picture: Getty
Aretha first became pregnant at the age of 12, and gave birth to her first child, named Clarence after her father, American Baptist minister CL Franklin, in 1955.
According to biographer David Ritz, the father of her oldest son Clarence was believed to be Donald Burke, a boy from school.
However, it was later reported in one of her handwritten wills, discovered in 2019, that Clarence’s father was actually Edward Jordan – whom she went on to have son Edward with in 1957.
Not much is known about Clarence’s life, but he is said to have had the least musical interest of her four sons. However, he is believed to have written a number of songs, including some recorded by his mother.
It was revealed in her handwritten wills that she had made « special provisions » for Clarence, now in his 60s, who has undisclosed special needs.
Edward Franklin 
Aretha Franklin’s son sings classic in honour of late mother
In 1957, aged 14, Aretha had a second child named Edward after his father Edward Jordan.
While Aretha was pursuing her career, her grandmother Rachel and sister Erma took turns raising the children.
Now in his 60s, Edward is also a singer.
How much was Aretha Franklin worth when she died?
« We just want to exhale right now. It’s been a long five years for my family, my children. »
Aretha Franklin was a global star for decades, known especially for hits like « Think, » « I Say a Little Prayer » and « Respect. »
Aretha Franklin did not leave behind a formal, typewritten will when she died five years ago at age 76.
The singer reportedly had a net worth of $80 million when she died. But the estate now has assets totaling less than $6 million, according to a report by the BBC.
But documents, with scribbles and hard-to-decipher passages, emerged in 2019 when a niece scoured the home for records.
In closing arguments, lawyers for Kecalf and Edward Franklin said the fact that the 2014 papers were found in a notebook in couch cushions did not make them less significant.
« You can take your will and leave it on the kitchen counter. It’s still your will, » Charles McKelvie told the jury.
Another lawyer, Craig Smith, pointed to the first line of the document, which was displayed on four large posters in front of the jury.
« Says right here: ‘This is my will.’She’s speaking from the grave, folks, » Smith said of Franklin.
Kecalf and Edward had teamed up against brother Ted White II, who favored the 2010 will. White’s attorney, Kurt Olson, noted the earlier will was under lock and key.
