Gregory Reed has reportedly filed legal papers in which he claimed that the Queen of Soul, who passed away from cancer in August, hadn't settled with him on the bills.
- October 27, 2018
AceShowbiz - Aretha Franklin's estate is being pursued for $54,000 (£42,000) in outstanding legal bills.
According to editors at TMZ, lawyer Gregory Reed has filed legal papers in a bid to recover fees allegedly owed to him by the music icon, who passed away in August following her battle with cancer.
Documents obtained by the gossip website state that Reed's firm provided a number of services to the Queen of Soul including negotiations on her final Atlantic Records contract.
However, the lawyer claims the "Respect" singer made her last payment of $10,000 (£7,700), six years ago and he is still owed almost $54,000 (£42,000) in unpaid fees.
The "Freeway of Love" hitmaker died aged 76 after losing a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Aretha has a net worth estimated to be around $80 million (£62 million), but according to the Associated Press, the singer didn't leave a will.
"I tried to convince her that she should do not just a will but a trust while she was still alive," Don Wilson, a lawyer in Los Angeles who worked with music legend, told the AP.
"She never told me, 'No, I don't want to do one,'" Wilson continued. "She understood the need. It just didn't seem to be something she got around to."
