ITALY:Just two weeks after the death of tenor Luciano Pavarotti, representatives of both the maestro's families, that of his first wife Adua Veroni and of his widow, Nicoletta Mantovani, would seem to be preparing for a battle over the inheritance of the singer's huge estate.
Pavarotti, who enjoyed a 40-year career as one of the world's greatest opera tenors, left a huge legacy by way of recording royalties as well as various properties.
For instance, his 1994 recording, The Three Tenors in Concert, along with José Carreras and Placido Domingo, remains the highest-selling classical album of all time. However, no one seems to know exactly how much Pavarotti was worth, with media estimates varying from €40 to €200 million.
At the centre of contention is a "qualified domestic trust" (QDT) revealed in a "special and limited last testament" earlier this week, which appears to leave "all the goods, material and immaterial" owned by the tenor in the US exclusively to his second wife, Nicoletta Mantovani. In other words, Pavarotti's US estate, including valuable royalties and worth perhaps €20 million, has been excluded from the assessment of the singer's total legacy.
Media reports earlier this week claimed that the singer had left a June 2007 will in which he left a legal minimum of one eighth of his inheritance to each of his four daughters - Lorenza, Cristina and Giuliana by Ms Veroni and Alice by Ms Mantovani. A further 25 per cent was left to Ms Mantovani herself while his widow was also made the sole beneficiary of a fund covering most of the remaining 25 per cent.
Yet the "special and limited last testament" relative to Pavarotti's US estate was drawn up in a second document, dated July 29th at a time when Pavarotti was seriously ill with pancreatic cancer.
Fabrizio Corsini, lawyer for the tenor's three eldest daughters, this week called the second will a "document of doubtful legitimacy", adding: "at the very least, it is a big surprise to us. We thought his last will and testament was the one drawn up on June 13th.
"This whole business has taken on a different shape. We want to look closely at the papers, check the date of the "trust". Then we'll ask for an estimate of his legacy, all his legacy, including his American estate. Then we'll see."
Speculation about a forthcoming tussle between Pavarotti's heirs emerged last week when Lidia La Marca, a long-time friend of the singer, related that Pavarotti had told her in his hospital bed, shortly before his death, that his second wife, Ms Mantovani, was tormenting him.
According to Ms La Marca, Pavarotti said that Ms Mantovani was "always thinking about money" and that she regularly turned up in hospital "with papers for me to sign".
Ms La Marca furthermore claimed that Pavarotti had asked her to make these matters known, via the media, after his death.