DETROIT, MI – 1987: American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist Aretha Franklin (1942-2018) performs in Detroit, MI, 1987. (Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images)
Just when it seemed the legal battles surrounding Aretha Franklin‘s estate had finally settled, another complication has emerged. Five years of court disputes didn’t resolve everything, and now new details explain why her sons’ fight over her assets remains unfinished business.
Back in July 2023, a jury ruled that all four of Franklin’s sons would split her music and copyright income after a heated legal contest over two competing wills. Yet despite that resolution, unaccounted-for items continue to spark tension. According to The Detroit Free Press, Aretha Franklin‘s sons Kecalf Cunningham and Ted White II are now locked in disputes over copyright interests in classics like “Think” and “Dr. Feelgood,” financial arrangements for their eldest brother Clarence, and how to divvy up hundreds of items stored across multiple Detroit-area facilities.
The storage units contain some genuinely significant pieces of music history. Among the holdings are dozens of reel-to-reel tapes and video recordings previously kept at Franklin’s Bloomfield Hills home, including rehearsal footage from her landmark 1998 VH1 Divas appearance, a 2003 concert performance, and her 1996 Christmas at New Bethel gospel event.
White has pushed back hard against what he calls “inadequate storage” conditions and recently objected to Cunningham installing security cameras at the units without consulting the other siblings. It’s a small detail that speaks to the larger friction: even when these brothers agree on the broad strokes, the details trip them up.
Since Franklin’s death in 2018, her estate has generated over 1,400 court filings. While none of the brothers have made public statements about the current dispute, Franklin’s longtime attorney David Bennett shared some insight with The Detroit Free Press about the ongoing stalemate. He explained that he attempted to bring the sons together early on, suggesting they simply review the wills and reach an agreement. “But everybody wanted something to the exclusion of somebody else,” Bennett said. “Which is the reason there is probate court.”
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