Multiple handwritten wills found for Aretha Franklin and I'm upset with her sons

There has been a new development in the estate of the late Aretha Franklin: a few days ago, three hand-written wills were found in her home. The story has been carried in numerous papers around the world, but I read the one at www.bbc.com (mostly because I detest having to fight my way through dozens of aggressive ads just to find the story). You can read the report here.

Something in the report really stood out to me. The sentence I'm referring to says, "...the wills had been shared with Franklin's four sons or their lawyers, but they had not reached a deal on whether any of them should be considered valid."

What? Reaching a deal on whether the wills are valid?

This upsets me more than I can say. It is NOT up to her children to decide if any given will is valid or not. And they certainly do NOT have the authority to make a "deal" about that! A will is valid or not valid whether any given individual likes it or not. Who are they to decide which will, if any, to "accept"?

It's one thing to have a genuine concern about a will and to try to prevent a fraudulent will or one that was made under coercion from going through the courts. That is a necessary and important safeguard for testators and beneficiaries alike. It's quite another thing to block ALL wills and simply say that your wishes are more important than the testator's intentions, than the rights of any beneficiaries under those wills, or even than the court system itself.

The greed and self-interest of some people continues to flabbergast me, even after all this time.

The attached photo of Aretha Franklin accompanied the article in www.bbc.com and is credited to Reuters.