Lawyers Blamed, Credited in Singers’ Foreclosure Cases
Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin is blaming a lawyer’s mistake for the near loss of her home, but pop singer Michael Jackson has his lawyers to thank for the rescue of his beloved Neverland Ranch.
Franklin’s $700,000 Detroit mansion fell into foreclosure after she neglected to pay $445 in taxes and late fees for 2005, the Detroit Free Press reports. She also owes nearly $19,000 in back taxes and fees 2006 and 2007, but foreclosure proceedings haven’t begun on those debts.
Franklin said through publicist that she will pay the amount and reclaim her property. “It was a mere oversight on my attorney’s part to notify me,” she said.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for Michael Jackson says he has refinanced the loan on his Neverland Ranch, the Associated Press reports. The property was scheduled for auction after Jackson missed a $24.5 million loan payment.
A hat tip to TaxProf Blog, which posted the Franklin story.
