View this post on Instagram
The late Diego Armando Maradona, often called “Dios” for his godlike skills on the soccer field, has left priceless assets around the world, undeclared bank accounts, trademark rights, and overall a complicated financial legacy that had led his family to start a legal battle that promises to be relentless. The administration of Maradona’s estate seems to have become Pandora’s box, and the result can be anybody’s guess. But one thing is for sure; we call all blame it on lack any estate planning. So, let’s check what when wrong.
The superstar has left an estate spread around the world. Since Maradona was domiciled in Argentina, a Court in Argentina has primary authority to administer his estate. But Maradona had assets around the world. In fact, the Argentinian court has issued rogatory letters to Cuba, Venezuela, Belarus, United States, and Mexico to fully determine what the assets that ultimately will be distributed amongst the heirs are. So here is lesson #1: make an inventory of your assets; having an inventory of your assets will save you a lot of money in the future, so do it as soon as you can. And lesson #2: without a plan, if you have assets in multiple jurisdictions, your family will have to start several court proceedings in those jurisdictions. I assure you, having to go through several probate cases will not make anybody happy other than the attorneys representing your family members in those cases.
The court in Argentina has also requested information on the star’s assets, accounts, pending legal proceedings, contracts, and, who can forget, debts. And debts seem to be of particular concern because there is an outstanding debt of more than 26 million euros with the Italian Treasury; the debt would correspond to Maradona’s time as a Napoli player. While still alive, Maradona ignored his tax obligations with the Italian government for about 30 years, and now that his has passed, his heirs will not be able to avoid it any longer. The matter needs to be resolved before they can receive their inheritance. So, lesson #3: we cannot just ignore the debts of the estate. Creditors must be paid before heirs can get their inheritance; they get whatever is left.
But what is the value of Maradona’s estate? Nobody knows, so far, registered assets in Maradona’s name are worth up to 6 million dollars. However, specialists in soccer players’ estates estimate that Diego’s total fortune could reach 500 million dollars. But interestingly, the trademarks around Maradona are owned by a company created in Dubai, and the owners of this company are not Maradona’s family members. I’m sure we will learn more about it in the near future. So, lesson #4: include your intellectual property in your asset inventory and make sure your intellectual property is registered correctly.
Maradona had a blended family. When he died, he was survived by eight children from six different partners. So, as expected, Maradona’s heirs are involved in legal fights over Maradona’s legacy in Argentina, but another process is open very close to us, in Miami, Florida. The process in Miami is an Ancillary Process because the main process is taking place in Argentina. The Miami Court has appointed Diego Junior, Jana, and Diego Fernando, three of Diego Maradona’s children, as Co-Personal Representatives. Before the court appointment, Maradona’s assets in Miami were under the management of Dalma and Gianinna, daughters of Diego and Claudia Villafañe. So, here is Lesson#5, if you have a blended family, plan for the possibility that issues may arise between ex-spouses or between your children and ex-spouses; think about estate planning as a way to protect your assets against incurring considerable expenses in court.
It seems impossible that the death of a person could trigger such a terrible series of events, but it is more common than one would think. The truth is that if Diego had done estate planning, most of the current legal battles could have been avoided. But we don’t have to be superstars to encounter the same issues. I have seen it happen so often that I wanted to share these notes with you to make sure you are informed about what can happen if you do not have your affairs to ensure when you are gone, your family is kept out of court and out of conflict.
