{"id":6667,"date":"2019-09-10T16:14:48","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T16:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.niagaralaw.ca\/?p=6667"},"modified":"2023-04-11T15:41:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T15:41:09","slug":"aretha-franklin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niagaralaw.ca\/aretha-franklin\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Aretha Franklin have a holographic will?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.niagaralaw.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/hand-written-will-1024x732.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6668\"\/><figcaption>Handwritten wills can potentially be valid if they meet a series of requirements<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Aretha Franklin died in August of 2018 and was believed not to have made a Will.&nbsp; However, in May of 2019, three separate handwritten wills were found in the late singer\u2019s home.&nbsp; The wills have been filed with the court and a hearing is scheduled for June 12<sup>th<\/sup> to determine if any of the written documents satisfy requirements for a Will under Michigan law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the case of <em>Laframboise v. Laframboise <\/em>[2011], the applicant challenged whether or not a handwritten document written by her late husband was a valid holographic will.&nbsp; The document was titled \u201cThe Informal Will and Last Requests of Adam Laframboise\u201d, and contained instructions regarding the disposition of his estate.&nbsp; The document began with, \u201cHereby follows my will and last requests\u201d and closed with \u201cplease honour what I have stated here.\u201d&nbsp; The issue here is the language that was used.&nbsp; It was alleged that the use of the words \u2018informal\u2019 and \u2018requests\u2019 could suggest that the deceased did not have the requisite testamentary intention.&nbsp; However, when the document was considered as a whole, the court found that the document did create a fixed and final disposition.&nbsp; Mr. Laframboise\u2019s use of the word \u2018informal\u2019 merely suggested that the document was handwritten and made without the assistance of a legal professional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Ontario, there are 3 key requirements for a holographic will under the <em>Succession Law Reform Act<\/em> (SLRA):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>It must be wholly in the handwriting of the testator<\/li><li>It must be signed by the testator<\/li><li>There must be a full and final expression of intention<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information on holographic wills, see our blog post on the infamous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.niagaralaw.ca\/the-tractor-fender-will\/\">Tractor Fender Will<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A further hearing to determine the validity of the various handwritten documents found at Aretha Franklin\u2019s home, which may be wills, is scheduled to resume on August 6<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>High profile examples of celebrities dying intestate\n(without a will), such as Prince and Aretha Franklin, highlight the importance\nof estate planning.&nbsp; Even if your estate\nis not extensive or complicated, having a properly executed and well drafted\nwill is going to result in less complex administration, and could help to avoid\nlong and costly legal battles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best way to ensure that your wishes for your estate are\nprotected and respected following your death are to meet with a lawyer to draft\na valid will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Daniel &amp; Partners LLP has many experienced lawyers\npracticing in Wills &amp; Estates.&nbsp; We\noffer a full range of services, from simple wills and powers of attorney to\ncomplex estate planning, trusts, and guardianship matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contact our office to arrange an initial consultation as\nsoon as possible to get our team started on your case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Post written by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.niagaralaw.ca\/lawyers\/karen-shedden\/\">Karen Shedden, associate\nlawyer.<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aretha Franklin died in August of 2018 and was believed not to have made a Will.&nbsp; However, in May of 2019, three separate handwritten wills were found in the late singer\u2019s home.&nbsp; The wills have been filed with the court and a hearing is scheduled for June 12th to determine if any of the written [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[100,98,101,33,34,48],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/niagaralaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6667"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/niagaralaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/niagaralaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niagaralaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niagaralaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6667"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/niagaralaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8108,"href":"https:\/\/niagaralaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6667\/revisions\/8108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niagaralaw.ca\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/niagaralaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niagaralaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/niagaralaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}