A Last Request That Shouldn’t Be Granted
The great French actor Alain Delon died this week at age 88. He had lived somewhat in self-imposed obscurity for the last few decades, especially the last five years after suffering a devastating stroke. Unfortunately for him, his family has fought one another very publicly since the stroke.
Messy family relationships, messy family dynamics, messy financial dealings. They’ve been all over the European media the last few years, none of it for pleasant reasons.
But that is nothing compared to the storm of negative publicity, worldwide, that came within minutes of the reading of Delon’s will a few days ago.
Provisions for a Dog in the Will . . .
. . . Are Not Uncommon, but There Are Limits
Alain Delon loved dogs. He was surrounded by dogs his entire professional life. The tiny town he moved to in the 1970s offered the space he wanted for his dogs – he bought an old holiday camp for train workers and their families.
Delon eventually created a chapel and cemetery for at least 35 of his dogs. When Delon died, he was surrounded by his children and his dog, Loubo, a ten-year-old Belgian Malinois he adopted as a puppy.
The official death announcement released by the family even included the dog: “Alain-Fabien, Anouchka, Anthony, as well as Loubo, are deeply saddened to announce the passing of their father.”
It turned out that Loubo was also in Alain’s will. But not like in a Chewy commercial – there’d be no vacation house for Loubo.
Instead, Delon instructed his executor to have Loubo “put to sleep” and placed in the coffin with Delon’s body with his arms around him.
He had stated this wish quite clearly in 2018, a year before the stroke, “He’s my end of life dog … I love him like a child. I’ve had 50 dogs in my life, but I have a special relationship with this one. He misses me when I’m not there.
If I die before him, I’ll ask the vet to take us away together. He’ll put him to sleep in my arms. I’d rather do that than know that he’ll let himself die on my grave with so much suffering.”
That sentiment was immortalized in his will. It set off a firestorm of criticism and an outcry from animal rights campaigners.
Loubo Is Saved by a French Law
It took a day or two before Delon’s three children announced “Loubo will live.” They would not honor that provision of their father’s will. The executor has not been heard from yet, so his feelings about enforcing the provision aren’t known. In this situation, he technically has until Delon’s funeral to decide.
Luckily for Loubo, however, French law would probably prevent the executor from carrying out Delon’s wishes in any event. In France, a dog owner can ask to have their pet put down, but veterinarians have the legal right to deny the request. Veterinarians have final the final say.
So. Loubo lives.
The Rest of the Will (and Disinheriting a Child)
Over the last few years, Delon’s mental and physical condition rapidly deteriorated and, by all accounts, he was not very much aware of things. Which was lucky in a sense as his three children took to social media and the airwaves to rip each other to shreds, made secret recordings of each other then released them to the press, banished his live-in friend from his home, and threaten law suit at the drop of a hat.
At the heart of it: the two sons had had a stormy relationship with Delon for decades while he clearly and publicly favored his daughter. This would be a good place to mention that while Delon only married once, all three children had different mothers.
In the United States, in Texas, closing his estate would probably set off a long-running legal battle as Delon would have undoubtedly left his estate to his daughter and frozen out his sons. That’s not a guess, by the way, Delon said as much, often.
French estate law, however, is different. Under French law, a parent cannot disinherit their children – no matter how estranged or conflicted the relationship. It is required that each surviving child receiving a minimum 25% share of the estate. (Delon’s estate is estimated to be between $55 - $330 million).
Delon was left with 25% of his estate to bequeath as he saw fit. He left that to his daughter as well. The sons say they are fine with that.
Today.