The Probate Lawyer Blog

Arturo Gatti, the former world-champion boxer, died violently while on vacation in Brazil, in 2009.  His wife, Amanda Rodrigues Gatti, was arrested for murder, only to be released after the police ruled the death a suicide.  Now, almost four years later, Brazilian authorities have re-opened the investigation and the case may soon return to court.  

It’s the latest chapter in a long line of legal struggles that started after Arturo Gatti’s death.  Gatti’s mother, brother, and the mother of his first child have always believed that Rodrigues was responsible for his death.  Gatti was found strangled by Rodrigues’ purse strap, and she reportedly was in the room with his body for ten hours without realizing he was dead.

Rodrigues has consistently maintained that Gatti committed suicide.  She points out that autopsies have been done in both Brazil and Montreal — where the couple lived — and both determined that Gatti killed himself.

The battle over the estate of the Godfather of Soul started not long after James Brown died of heart failure and pneumonia on Christmas Day, 2006, at the age of 73.  Now, more than six years later, the South Carolina Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that may finally lay the epic feud to rest.  

James Brown, February 1973, Musikhalle, Hamburg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Brown was both physically and mentally strong when he signed his estate planning documents.  His legal documents included clear instructions that he did not want anyone else to benefit, including past or future spouses, or others who may or may not be his children.  He directed his trustees to vigorously fight anyone who contested his wishes, and he considered any type of legal challenge to the validity of the documents as an affront to his wishes.