Jury finds handwritten document found in Aretha Franklin’s sofa is a valid will

Lady Gaga has shared a heartfelt tribute to music icon and friend Tony Bennett, following news of his death.The legendary American singer died on July 21 in his hometown of New York, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was aged 96.Since sharing his debut album ‘Because Of You’ in 1952, the vocalist went on to release more than 70 albums, won 20 Grammy awards and collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Sir Paul McCartney and Aretha Franklin.His final studio recording was titled ‘Love For Sale’, a collaborative collection with Lady Gaga which was released in 2021. The two had previously joined forces for the 2014 release ‘Cheek To Cheek’.Now, following his death earlier this month, Lady Gaga has spoken out on the loss publicly for the first time, and shared a touching tribute to the musician and “true friend”.Alongside an image of them both embracing, shared yesterday (July 30), the caption read: “I will miss my friend forever.

Prince William made a surprise appearance on a food truck and — yes chef!In a new video shared on the Sorted Food YouTube account, the Prince of Wales used the opportunity to promote his Earthshot prize and the recent winners of the competition — geared towards promoting climate activism.William first appeared in the 14-minute video in the beginning, when he brought in three items created by previous winners of the Earthshot prize competition for the hosts of the web series, Benjamin 'Ben' Ebbrell, Michael 'Mike' Huttlestone, Jamie Spafford and Barry Taylor, to use in order to create an environmentally-friendly burger. «I don't know if you guys have heard about the Earthshot Prize, but it's an initiative I started about two years ago now although it's been about four years in the making — I had hair when it started,» the future king quipped while explaining the initiative.

The Prince of Wales left diners opened-mouthed when he unexpectedly dished up veggie burgers made with Earthshot Prize-winning products. Prince William handed over the meals to supporters of popular YouTube channel Sorted Food, invited by the heir to the throne to try out three winning entries from his environmental prize.

Brandon Williams' Manchester United career may have gone off-track but his performances in pre-season have impressed team-mates.

Prince George looks all grown up and just like his dad Prince William in a new official portrait released for his tenth birthday.The royal family have released the new photo to mark the prince’s tenth birthday on Saturday (22 July), which shows the royal perched on some steps near the family home at Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate. In the photo, the young prince wears a blue and white checked shirt with a pair of teal trousers and dark brown suede shoes as he smiles for the camera.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, after calling for the latter to take “more accountability” for the Oscars slap.The actor, best known for roles in Kill Bill and Independence Day, previously responded on The Wendy Williams Show to Pinkett Smith’s first statement after her husband, Will Smith, slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.When asked what she thought of her comments in June last year, Fox said: “I have love for the Smiths. I know their children.

A dad and his son were found locked inside a 'counterfeit street' shop as officers descended. Greater Manchester Police says the pair were being held 'against their will' by shopkeepers at the premises on Great Ducie Street earlier today (July 18).

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International A new documentary about Richard Williams, the father of tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams, has sold into major markets. “On the Line: The Richard Williams Story,” which had its U.K. premiere at Sheffield Doc/Fest in June, has been sold into Sky (U.K. and Italy), Canal+ (France), MNET (South Africa), Paramount+ (Australia) and TVNZ (New Zealand). The film paints a complex portrait of the life, career and impact of Williams — the family patriarch and tennis coach to Venus and Serena Williams, who was also portrayed by Will Smith in the 2022 movie “King Richard.”

Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag Prince William is said to have purchased an electric scooter, which he has been using to commute within the grounds of the vast Windsor estate. E-scooters are currently illegal for use on public roads, unless part of an approved scheme, but are allowed on private grounds, such as the royal family's home of Windsor Castle and estate.

Treat Williams' 24-year-old daughter paid homage to her late father one month after the actor died in a motorcycle crash in Vermont.Ellie Williams took to Instagram on Wednesday and remembered the  and  star as a devoted father who gave her «the best life imaginable.» She shared a sweet throwback photo of her as a child pretend shaving her father, whose face is covered with shaving cream.Ellie also took to her Instagram Stories and shared more photos, including her older brother, Gill, holding her as a baby and visiting her father onstage when he was on Broadway. She remembered him as her «king» while also expressing the grief she's still trying to process. «I have never experienced this kind of grief before, so it’s hard to put my thoughts into words, but I’ll try my best for now.

Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, passed away in 2018, but her estate is still in flux, pitting her sons against each other. This week, a Michigan jury ruled that a handwritten document found in her couch after Franklin’s death is a valid will. It is a victory for Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin, whose lawyers had argued that papers dated 2014 should override a 2010 will which was discovered around the same time in a locked cabinet at the Franklin’s home in suburban Detroit.

episode.The topic came up during a conversation about the recent ruling about the will found in Aretha Franklin’s couch cushion, as they spoke about being proactive about your own wishes — especially when you’re a public figure.“Yeah, no, I don’t want to be a hologram, that’s been in my will for 15 years,” Goldberg said.“No one has really asked me if I want to be a hologram yet,” co-host Joy Behar joked in response.“Well no, they don’t ask you, that’s the thing, they just do it,” Goldberg said. “They just do it and then you go, ‘Hey, isn’t that Tupac? You know? Wait a minute, didn’t Tupac die? What is he doing up on …’ Yeah see, I don’t want that.”“It’s a little freaky, creepy,” she added.ARETHA FRANKLIN'S WILL FOUND IN COUCH FOUND VALID: Following a Michigan jury ruling that a document handwritten by the Queen of Soul and found in her couch after her death is a valid will, #TheView co-hosts discuss why some are hesitant to create a will.

Will Ferrell‘s sons are all grown up!

A jury in Michigan has concluded that a 2014 handwritten document found under a cushion on a sofa can be considered the last will and testament of Aretha Franklin. It means that the late musician’s estate is now likely to be managed and distributed according to the wishes set out in that document.After Franklin died in 2018, two documents were found in her home that could constitute a will, one from 2010 and one from 2014.

Thania Garcia A Michigan jury has ruled that a set of handwritten notes found under Aretha Franklin’s sofa stand as a valid will, according to a report by the Associated Press. Jurors deliberated for almost an hour on Tuesday before determining that the handwritten documents discovered under a sofa cushion by Franklin’s niece were legally binding documents of record they had been signed by the “Respect” singer in 2014. Lawyers for the singer’s sons Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin won the case that argued the 2014 documents were valid and superseded a 2010 version of the will that Franklin had left in a safe before she died of pancreatic cancer in 2018. The 2010 pages were discovered in a locked cabinet — and by the same niece who discovered the 2014 version — in Franklin’s Detroit home.

The 2014 will found in the couch of Aretha Franklin‘s home — following her death in 2018 — has been deemed valid by a jury.

A court in Michigan heard testimonies from Aretha Franklin’s children yesterday in a dispute over the late musician’s will. Franklin’s sons disagree over whether documents from 2010 or 2014 best represent their mother’s wishes in terms of how her estate should be managed.Following Franklin’s death in 2018 two documents were found at her home, both of which could be considered her last will and testament.The one written in 2014 is obviously the more recent.

Sir Elton John told the thousands of adoring fans in Sweden that he “better make it a good show” as kicked off the final date of his mammoth farewell tour.The 76 year old musical megastar has been travelling around the globe performing his Farewell Yellow Brick Road show since 2018, and his second night at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm on Saturday (8 July) finally brought the 330-date run to a close. In classic spectacular fashion, The Rocket Man singer donned a black suit jacket with colourful beading on the lapel as he took to the stage to open with his hit Bennie And The Jets, which first appeared on the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album in 1973.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Unabashed pop groups with fervid teenage followings tend to get trivialized, at least in the media. They’re dismissed as being slick and calculated and superficial. But there’s a story in “Wham!,” the new Netflix documentary about the quintessential pop duo of the 1980s, that testifies to what a chancy and audacious artist George Michael was even back in his teen-idol days. The year is 1983. Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, coming off their first album, “Fantastic” (which had a few hits, though none of them were great), have established Wham! as an effective lightweight pop machine, with its two young stars prancing around the stage in sexy sportswear. The time has come to record “Careless Whisper,” a song they’ve had in their back pocket for several years (we hear the super-early demo version of it that they recorded in 1981 in Ridgeley’s living room on a TEAC 4-track Portastudio). Michael has become enough of a powerhouse to hook up with Jerry Wexler, the legendary producer of Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles. He heads down to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio to record the track, with Wexler producing. What more could a 20-year-old budding pop star want?

Madonna took off into the stratosphere with “Lucky Star” and other hits from her self-titled debut album — released 40 years ago on July 27, 1983 — the then-24-year-old hopeful had received some clairvoyant reinforcement regarding her future as the Queen of Pop.“She had actually gone to a psychic, and she told me, ‘Just watch what’s gonna happen,’” Paul Pesco — who played guitar on both “Lucky Star” and “Burning Up”  — told The Post.“She told me this in rehearsals one day, and it was like the equivalent of Bette Davis saying, ‘Fasten your seatbelts …’ I mean, she kind of knew it.”That would give prophetic meaning to “I Know It” — one of five songs that a young Madonna Louise Ciccone of Michigan wrote by herself for an eight-track classic that would get generations of future dance-pop divas into the groove. Possessing neither the gospel grandeur of an Aretha Franklin or the folky feels of a Joni Mitchell, Madonna — who was set to commemorate the 40th anniversary of her debut with her “Celebration” tour launching on July 15 until the Material Girl, 64, was sidelined by a serious bacterial infection two weeks ago — made her own path, as the mother of a pop reinvention.After the so-called death of disco as the ’70s twirled to an end, Madonna reclaimed the dance floor in a whole new way.“We really felt that if we were to combine disco and R&B and new wave, we would have something really cool,” said Michael Rosenblatt, Madonna’s original A&R man at Sire Records.