The lawyer who managed to find the missing heiress ended up winning €600,000 in the case
When a person dies and has no heirs, all assets end up in the hands of the state. This is what happened to the Spanish Azcona family, whose last person is believed to have died in 2014. After the three brothers, Maricarmen was the last in the family to die, leaving behind a fortune estimated at 5.7 million euros. This money, due to the lack of a complaint from a family member, was left to the Spanish tax authorities.
according to Country This is actually the second largest inheritance the Spanish state has collected in this century. But you may have to go back to the starting point. It’s just that Luisa Azcona came into play, claiming the same money for being Maricarmen’s cousin. The documents submitted did not convince the state and the woman will have to go to court to try to recover the money she says she is owed.
The aim is to oppose a 2016 decision, in which a judge declared the state to be the heir to Maricarmen, having identified several accounts and properties whose financial value in the province of Biscay, where Bilbao is located, is more than 6.3 million euros. Of this money, 600 thousand euros were withdrawn to pay the salaries of a lawyer who was decisive in the case, leaving then the 5.7 million that Luisa, now 86 years old, claims.
A small part of the cake is more than 154 million euros. This is the amount the state has collected since 2000 in more than 1,500 unclaimed inheritances, giving an average value of around 100,000 euros per operation.
And it’s not because the state isn’t trying, which provides an incentive for anyone who can help find the recipient of an unclaimed inheritance. This incentive can be up to 10% of the total value of the same inheritance.
And here comes the role of Marina Muñoz Ruiz, that lawyer, who was responsible for establishing the link between the legacy left by the arrival of Maricarmen and Luisa on the scene. An authentic lottery, the highest sum ever received in a case of this kind. It was this jurist who discovered Luisa’s kinship with Maricarmen, a proper cousin who was, until then, unknown. It’s just that Luisa’s father, who was Maricarmen’s uncle, ended up falling out with the family, and ended up getting upset with the other members before the daughter was born. Now, unaware of the existence of that family bond, Louisa could have a large sum.
The fight continues now with Luisa, who wants to get rid of the legal issues and bureaucracy, focusing only on getting back the money she believes she is entitled to.
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