French superstar’s inheritance dispute resolved
The son of famous singer Johnny Hallyday has revealed that a legal battle over his father’s estate has finally concluded.
David Hallyday, and Laura Smet, his sister, were excluded from the late singer’s will when he died at 74, leaving his estate to be shared by his second wife and their two adopted children.
Speaking recently to a French radio station, Hallyday’s eldest child commented that he was relieved that the two-year fight was over and that with larger issues like the recent pandemic to be concerned with, the inheritance battle belonged firmly in the past.
The late singer’s estate was estimated to be worth £91,043,658 when it was awarded to his wife, Laeticia and their two daughters Joy and Jade in a will made in the USA, where the new family were resident. Under French law, children automatically inherit the estate of their late parents, and so the two elder Halliday children embarked on an attempt to contest the will.
Latterly, the estate was valued at far less, around £34m, when it was revealed that the singer’s royalties and property had been overestimated.
Lawyer’s for Hallyday’s widows have announced that the dispute had reached a ‘definitive agreement’ but no precise details of this accord were made public. However, the agreement was between Laeticia Hallyday and Laura Smet, as David Hallyday, also a musician, renounced any claims to the estate. He has, however, maintained the right to advise over the legacy of his father’s music.
