Jury declares pages from Aretha Franklin’s couch to be her will

Aretha Franklin, who rose to international stardom in the 1960s, died in 2018 at the age of 76 [File: Mary Altaffer/The Associated Press]

A jury in the United States has ruled that a handwritten will found in singer Aretha Franklin’s couch is a valid legal document.

Tuesday’s ruling in the midwestern state of Michigan represents the latest turn in a legal battle over Franklin’s estate, initially valued in the tens of millions of dollars, though that number was revised down to a reported $6m this year.