The son of French superstar Johnny Hallyday has shared his relief after finally resolving the bitter dispute with his stepmother over the late singer’s multi-million pound fortune.
Speaking on French radio station RTL, David Hallyday, 54, who is also the son of singer Sylvie Vartan, said he ‘thanked God’ the family’s legal battle was finally over following a two-year fight.
David said the row following the singer’s death in December 2017 from lung cancer, when aged 74, now belonged in ‘the past’ and that there were bigger social issues to worry about.
The singer’s eldest children, David and his sister Laura Smet, 36, decided to contest Hallyday’s will, which left his entire estate – originally estimated at €100million – to his widow Laeticia and their two adopted daughters.
Laeticia’s lawyers announced in July that a ‘definitive agreement’ had been reached between her and her late husband’s children. No details of the accord were disclosed.
The row was sparked after it was discovered Hallyday had signed a US will that left all of his fortune, initially estimated at €100million (£91,043,658), to his wife Laeticia, 44, and their two adopted daughters, Jade, 16, and Joy, 12.
David and his sister Laura Smet, 36, were excluded from the will, which was contrary to French Law, where children automatically inherit from their parents.
Earlier this year, David, a musician and F1 enthusiast, who is father to Ilona, 25, and Emma, 22, renounced his father’s heritage after his stepmother Laeticia and his sister finally reached a compromise over the late singer’s estate.
It was announced in early July that Laeticia Hallyday had inherited the singer’s properties, to the estimated value of €28 to €34million, and an undisclosed amount in cash.
The amount had initially been thought to reach €100million, but was later revised down to €38 million, after it was found that the value of his properties and royalties had been overestimated.
While Laeticia won the battle, she also inherited Johnny’s hefty tax debts, which he accumulated throughout his life and are thought to be ‘around’ €30million.