A judicial probe has been opened here to determine whether the late Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti was of sound mind and body when he signed his so-called 'American' will six weeks before his death.
Investigators intend to determine what Pavarotti's physical and mental conditions were on July 29 when he signed the document here which made his widow, Nicoletta Mantovani, the sole administrator and beneficiary of a trust fund which contained all of the tenor's assets in the United States.
A will dealing with Pavarotti's overall estate was signed a month earlier in his home town of Modena.
Pavarotti died September 6 from pancreatic cancer at the age of 71.
The judicial probe was prompted by reports in the press that Pavarotti was unhappy with certain terms of the 'American' will.
In an interview published in the Italian press on October 3, Pesaro notary Luciano Buonanno, who certified the 'American' will, claimed it had been "totally drawn up by the lawyers".
The notary said that when he raised objections to certain clauses, he was told by lawyers "not to change anything".
Buonanno added that when he quizzed Pavarotti on the nature of the American assets, "a lawyer intervened to say that the real estate assets were worth some $100,000. When the Maestro heard that he rolled his eyes and said: "I think it's a lot more than that".
After his death, Pavarotti's American assets were said to be worth some 15 million euros. They included an apartment in New York overlooking Central Park and an extensive art collection with works by Henri Matisse.
The Pesaro notary has always voiced his doubts about the trust and he is currently subject to disciplinary action by the local notary guild for being too vocal about them.
Investigators will interview Buonanno along with doctors and nurses who treated Pavarotti before his death.
WIDOW'S LAWYERS DEFEND 'AMERICAN' WILL.
Lawyers for Pavarotti's widow have always argued that the 'American' will was an "appendix" to the official, 'Italian' will which he had drawn up in June.
They added that a decision to create the trust fund in the US was made months before his 'Italian' will was drawn up and that a draft for creating the fund existed in May.
The lawyers explained that Pavarotti wanted his American assets to be placed in a trust so that Mantovani would have full possession of the real estate, the value of which would then be calculated in his estate's net worth.
There had been some question whether the 'American' will subtracted the US assets from the overall estate by placing them in a trust fund before the tenor's death.
Pavarotti's June will abided by Italian law and left 50% of his assets in equal measure to his four daughters: three with his first wife Adua Veroni and one with Mantovani.
Mantovani, who was named executor, was given 25% of the estate and was made the sole administrator and beneficiary of a special fund to contain the remaining 25%, minus one million euros to be split between two of his long-time assistants.
Press estimates of Pavarotti's full estate have run from a low of 30 million euros to as much as 200 million euros.
Last week, a notary called in by Pavarotti's family to calculate the value of his estate confirmed that 'Big Luciano' had also left a significant amount of debt.
The Rome Daily La Repubblica last week reported that the tenor's account at a Monte de Paschi di Siena bank in Bologna was overdrawn by almost 11 million euros and that he had had mortgages at the same bank for another seven million euros.
