Aretha Sings Foreclosure Blues

Lawyer's $445 tax mistake puts Franklin's Detroit pad at risk
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 13, 2008 2:05 PM CDT
Aretha Sings Foreclosure Blues
"It was a mere oversight on my attorney's part," Aretha Franklin said of $445 in back taxes that have her facing foreclosure on her Detroit mansion. "It will be taken care of immediately."   (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Aretha Franklin’s mansion is in foreclosure after the Queen of Soul flubbed her taxes, TMZ.com reports. Franklin owes $19,192 in back taxes, but she says she’ll pay before the March 31 deadline. The singer faults her lawyer for a 2005 mistake over $445 in taxes and late fees that pushed the Detroit home, valued at $712,000 into foreclosure.

“It was a mere oversight on my attorney's part to notify me,” Franklin told the Detroit Free Press. “It will be taken care of immediately.” The slate-roofed Detroit mansion has a three-car garage and backs onto the Detroit Golf Club. It was built in 1927, the AP reports. (More Aretha Franklin stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X