Aretha Franklin estate says $7.8 million IRS bill is paid, leaving door open to payments to singer's sons

Aretha Franklin’s long-standing $7.8 million debt to the Internal Revenue Service has been paid in full, her estate says in a new court filing.

It could open the door for Franklin’s four sons to finally take the driver’s seat in her post-death affairs and fully benefit from revenues flowing into her estate — which would mean millions of dollars, at last, getting into their hands.

The late Queen of Soul’s tax burden had been an immovable hurdle as her heirs sorted out other estate matters — sometimes combatively — in Oakland County Probate Court following her 2018 death.

As the mightiest creditor in the picture, the IRS held sway, and its debt demands prevented the sons from receiving money, even while the late star’s music and movie projects generated big revenue in her name.

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The remaining tax liability was paid off June 17 with delivery of a cashier’s check to the IRS, according to the new court petition filed by attorney Reginald Turner, personal representative for the estate. Turner also serves as president of the American Bar Association.

The IRS said Monday it cannot comment on individual tax matters, citing federal privacy laws.

The federal tax agency staked its claim after the singer’s death, contending that nearly $8 million in unpaid taxes, penalties and interest had piled up during the previous seven years.

The estate at last struck a deal with the IRS in April 2021, mapping out an accelerated payoff schedule that also set up limited but regular payments to Franklin’s sons.

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For Franklin’s estate, a fast payoff was crucial: So long as the tax debt sat there, interest and penalties would continue to pile up.

The IRS deal earmarked 45% of incoming Aretha Franklin revenue to pay down the standing tax balance. Another 40% was directed to an escrow account to handle taxes on newly generated income.

With the tax debt now purportedly off its back, the estate argues that most of the incoming cash should get distributed equally among the four sons each month. From that point, income tax obligations would be on each individual.

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Probate Judge Jennifer Callaghan would have to greenlight the request.

In the meantime, there’s still the matter of multiple wills apparently left by Franklin, including three handwritten documents discovered in her home in 2019.

A fourth will draft abruptly turned up last year — this one a typed document prepared by a Troy law firm in 2017 but left unsigned by the star.

The documents contain conflicting instructions about Franklin’s wishes for her estate, including which heirs were to get what, and their emergence exacerbated tensions among sons Clarence, Edward, Teddy and Kecalf. A trial to clear up the situation was planned for 2020 but delayed amid the pandemic.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Aretha Franklin's $7.8 million tax debt paid, sons look to take reins