Instead, she jotted down her wishes on two handwritten wills — one dated in 2010 and another in 2014. The legal dispute over the estate was between her sons, who disagreed over which handwritten will should govern their mother's estate. One son, Ted White II, thought the 2010 will should control the estate, while two other sons, Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin, favored the 2014 document, according to the Associated Press. That may also happen if a decedent owns property in "joint tenancy," whereby two or more people own the property together, Douglas said. This legal arrangement dictates that the surviving spouse inherits the account, taking precedence over the language in a will, Douglas said.

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Persons: Aretha Franklin, Dimitrios Kambouris, Aretha Franklin's, Franklin didn't, Franklin, Ted White II, Kecalf Franklin, Edward Franklin, Richard Behrendt, —, Charlie Douglas, Douglas, Behrendt Organizations: Getty, Associated Press, HH, Investments Locations: New York City, Franklin's Detroit, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Atlanta