DR
Rosalina Ribeiro and Lúcio Tomé Feteira
Tomé Feteira’s heirs now want to recover more than 14.7 million euros from the beneficiaries of Rosalina Ribeiro’s inheritance, including the State and the Portuguese Institute of Oncology.
More than two decades after the death of businessman Lúcio Tomé Feteira, the long legal dispute surrounding his inheritance enters a decisive phase. The heirs of the millionaire from Vieira de Leiria moved forward with enforcement action to recover more than 14.7 million euros that they consider to be owed by the inheritance of Rosalina Ribeiro, former secretary and alleged companion of the businessman, murdered in Brazil in 2009.
The action was filed with the Court of Justice of the District of São Paulo in April this year, after the Superior Court of Justice confirmed, in February, a decision considered decisive for the outcome of the case. The court concluded that Rosalina Ribeiro was not the owner of the more than 8.9 million euros deposited in a joint account that he maintained with Tomé Feteira in a Swiss bank.
The decision placed a final point in a legal battle that began in 2007 by Olímpia Feteira, who disputed Rosalina’s claim that the resources had been donated to her by the businessman before his death. According to the STF, it was not proven that Tomé Feteira had the intention of donating to the former secretary the amounts deposited in the joint account opened in 1999. Therefore, the amounts were considered integral part of the entrepreneur’s inheritance.
With judicial confirmation, 33 heirs of Tomé Feteira moved forward to collect the accumulated debt, which exceeds 14.7 million euros due to the inclusion of late payment interest and other charges. The execution was carried out against the beneficiaries of Rosalina’s inheritance, including the State, the Portuguese Institute of Oncology and five individuals designated by the former secretary as heirs to her assets, recalls .
To satisfy the debt, you will need to sale of properties and remaining assets left by Rosalina Ribeiro. However, sources linked to the process indicate that the existing assets will hardly be enough to cover the entire amount claimed. As a result, some of the beneficiaries of the inheritance may not receive any value.
The case constitutes one of the most publicized succession disputes in Portugal. According to previous court decisions, Tomé Feteira left a assets valued at around 50.5 million eurosincluding goods located in Brazil.
