Youngest Son Files Lawsuit to Invalidate Will
Inheritance Tax Issues Remain After Legal Battle
It has come to light that the children of French actor Alain Delon, known as the "handsome man of the century," are embroiled in a conflict over inheritance distribution following his death. On September 2 (local time), international media outlets such as Le Parisien and AFP reported that Alain Fabien, Delon's youngest son, filed a lawsuit with the Paris court claiming that the will his father wrote in November 2022 is invalid. Alain Fabien argued that his father did not have sufficient mental capacity when drafting the will and that he only became aware of its existence after his father's passing, which led him to initiate the lawsuit.
Alain Delon posed on April 18, 1988, in Salon-de-Provence, flying an Alpha Jet belonging to the French Air Force Patrouille de France. Photo by AFP Yonhap News
Alain Delon passed away on August 18 last year at the age of 88. His funeral was held on August 24 of the same year, and, in accordance with his wishes, he was interred in the crypt of Bourrouris Church. Delon's estate is estimated to be around 50 million euros (approximately 81.2 billion won). The inheritance includes a mansion in Douchy, an apartment in Paris, and real estate in Geneva, Switzerland.
In his first will, drafted in 2015, Alain Delon bequeathed 50% of his assets to his daughter Anouchka, with the remaining 50% to be divided equally between his eldest son Anthony and his youngest son Alain Fabien, granting each 25%. In the second will, signed in November 2022, Delon granted all moral rights to his works to his daughter Anouchka and transferred a 51% stake in the company managing his image and trademark rights to her as well. Alain Fabien is challenging this second will, asserting that, since Delon suffered a stroke in 2019 and was in poor health, there were issues with the drafting of the will.
In particular, Fabien is also raising concerns about the will being kept secret until Delon's death in 2024, further escalating the family dispute to include allegations of forgery, concealment of medical information, and attempts at tax evasion. Issues such as the payment of inheritance tax remain unresolved until the lawsuit concludes. In France, inheritance tax can be as high as 45% on amounts exceeding 1.8 million euros (about 2.9 billion won). Some local media outlets have reported that the children may be forced to sell the Douchy mansion to cover the taxes, noting that the annual maintenance costs for the property alone amount to around 200,000 euros (about 300 million won), which is a significant burden.
Meanwhile, it became a topic of discussion before his death that Alain Delon had decided to pursue euthanasia in March 2022. After undergoing surgery for a stroke in 2019, he reportedly settled his affairs and stayed in Switzerland, where euthanasia is legal. In an interview with France's TV5Monde at the time, he said, "I am living in Switzerland, not France, where euthanasia is illegal. If the situation arises, I will not hesitate to choose euthanasia." However, it is not known whether Delon actually ended his life through euthanasia.
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