Aretha Franklin's sons conflicted over who to control her estate

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Special moments from Aretha Franklin’s funeral service

music career spanned six-plus decades. The Queen of Soul died of cancer earlier this month at the age of 76.

Aretha Franklin’s sons disagree about who should manage what could be a multimillion-dollar estate.

Attorneys for Theodore White II last week told a Michigan judge in a court filing that White should be named co-executor, or personal representative, along with Franklin’s niece, Sabrina Owens.

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Owens has had that role since the singer’s death last year, when a will couldn’t be found. The subsequent discovery of handwritten wills has left control of the estate uncertain.

A 2014 document shows Franklin chose son Kecalf Franklin as the representative. The names of White and Owens were crossed out, although the pair appeared in a 2010 handwritten will.

White doesn’t believe Franklin crossed out the names. A judge on Aug. 6 will consider a request to have a handwriting expert examine the documents.