63-Year-Old Trumpeter Might be an Heir to a Tremendous Fortune

José Collado, a trumpeter in Marbella Spain, finally met his mother when he was 49 years old. She said his father was the fourth Marquis de Larios. Mr. Collado, who grew up in an orphanage and had a rough life, was skeptical. After years of trying to find the truth, Mr. Collado, now 63, will finally get his answer in a few weeks when the court-ordered DNA test results come back.

Mr. Collado has quickly become a celebrity because everyone in Spain knows the de Larios name and is curious about the truth of this story.

While Mr. Collado just wants to know the truth, there are economic aspects of this discovery as well. In 1954, when Mr. Collado’s alleged father died, the inheritance laws excluded illegitimate children. But today’s laws would recognize Mr. Collado as an heir and would give him a portion of the estate.

See Suzanne Daley, On the Cusp of Nobility After a Life of Obscurity, N.Y. Times, June 8, 2010. 

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.