Aretha Franklin’s long-standing $7.8 million debt to the Internal Revenue Service has finally been paid in full. The Internal Revenue Service filed a claim against the singer for unpaid taxes after her death, but have now struck a deal.

However, the battle between her sons in her probate case still wages on. When the late singer passed away in August 2018, her family thought that she died without any estate plan whatsoever, but since her death four different wills have been discovered. Since the discovery of these documents, her four adult sons have been in court fighting one another over her assets, as well as who among them should be designated as the estate’s personal representative. Her estate planning documents also did not account for any tax consequences either as evidenced by her massive tax debt. Because she only had a will and not a trust to hold title to her assets, Aretha’s family was stuck having to go through a very public probate case. As Aretha’s case has shown, probate can not only be a long and tedious process that takes years to complete, but it can also create family conflict. One should never rely exclusively on a will alone to meet their estate planning needs. Doing so almost guarantees disastrous repercussions for family members. In Aretha’s case, one of her children had special needs and her estate plan did not take into account his condition.

Do not fall into the same trap. Always consult with an attorney to properly set up a tax efficient and creditor protected estate plan. Contact us now for a free consultation.