The Dukedom of Medina Sedonia is an ancient title that reaches back more than 500 years and whose most famous holder commanded the Spanish Armada. But when the 21st holder of the title approached death, she did all in her power to prevent her children from taking much of anything but the title. Instead, she married her long term lesbian partner and left the rest of the estate, including the family seat and archive, to a private foundation in a quest to near completely disinherit her children. However, a Spanish court has largely overturned the estate arrangements of the late duchess by allowing the foundations ownership of the home and archives to stand but with a debt against it in favor of the children and the wife of the duchess to the tune of €33 million. This was due to Spanish law requiring at least 2/3 of the estate to pass to family members although, in this case, her children will receive money rather than the landed estate. This ruling finally brings to an end what is surely the most unique battle over inheritance in the half millennium history of the title.
See James Badcock, Spain’s ‘Red Duchess’ children win €33m inheritance, The Telegraph, December 18, 2015.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
