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Who Really Profits From Amy Winehouse's New Posthumous Album?

Mon., Dec. 5, 2011 7:00 PM PST by Leslie Gornstein

Mark Allan/Getty Images

Just who is profiting from Amy Winehouse's new album?
—Zesty Fresh, via Twitter

You mean her album and her clothing line, right? Because everybody needs to have a clothing line. You and I are the only people out there who don't have one, you know. Anyway, I have good news for anyone concerned that the late Winehouse's cash might land in undeserving paws...

When it came to her last will and testament, the girl knew what she was doing. According to widely circulated reports, Winehouse rewrote her will shortly after divorcing Blake Fielder-Civil, her husband of two years and the man who, in his own words, "introduced" Winehouse to heroin and crack cocaine.

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Instead, news reports say Winehouse left her estate to her parents, and perhaps her brother, Alex. Winehouse's father, Mitch Winehouse, has confirmed to the media that he is now a part of the late Winehouse's estate. That means that he and Winehouse's mother not only oversee any new Amy Winehouse income, but also make key decisions about how that income will be made.

For example: royalties from that forthcoming Winehouse album you mention, called Lioness: Hidden Treasures, which debuts this week.

COMING SOON: A Memoir From Mitch Winehouse

"The estate, which I'm a part of—my ex-wife and I— we could decide to put it out or not put it out, and when we went to listen to the album it was a very difficult time for us," Mitch Winehouse said during an interview with ITV's Daybreak.

"It was very emotional. But we had to sit through it and after the first couple of songs we sort of calmed down a little bit. Our son was there as well, and we all had to be in agreement that the album was of the same quality or better, in fact, than Frank and Back to Black, and we were more than pleasantly surprised."

So does that mean he also gets Winehouse's money? Yes and no. The Winehouse family has set up the Amy Winehouse Foundation benefiting children in need. All royalties and fees from Winehouse's final clothing line reportedly will go to that foundation, along with at least some, if not all, of the proceeds from the album.

Just how much money are we talking about? Foundation spokesfolk have said they expect to raise and donate about $780,000 this year.