Inheritance after bigamy

InheritanceMy father died in Spain 26 years ago leaving an Hotel, a large villa and money. Originally a republican Spanish fighter he ended up with the British Army during World War II.  For his army service he was awarded British Nationality upon his discharge in London in 1945.  His British Army records are closed until 2055 and as far as I know he was the only Spanish refugee given this document.  In London he became a landlord buying properties and renting them buiding a large empire.

In 1957 he returned to Spain with his British passport and decided to sell up in Britain and return to live in Spain with my mother and myself.  Being very violent and aggressive my  mother decided that she wished to remain in London and tried to divorce my father who fought this divorce for many years.

In the mid 1970’s he met a Spanish economic migrant at a family friend’s house who returned to live with him in Spain.  A divorce was eventually granted but not before he married this woman in bigamy, she knowing full well that he was already married in the UK.  Contact with his doughter was severed and his grandchildren were not allowed to visit him and he  was by this time becoming fairly depended physically on this woman.

Shortly before his death a will was made in which it was stated that I was illegitimate and she was willed the Hotel which she promptly sold although the land it sits on is still in my mother’s name.  The villa in which they lived was willed to me as his ‘illegitimate heir’ with a right to her to live in it until her death when it would be handed to me.  She promptly closed this villa and has allowed it to deteriorate for 26 years.  Upon hearing of his death I returned to Spain engaged a lawyer and gave him all the relevant documentation including their marriage certificate which they hadn’t collected when marrying and leaving what had been his home in ……

Property of which consisted of two villas and a block of six 3 bedroom apartments on the … beach. This money was used to build the hotel and villa on land he previously owned with my mother in …  This lawyer sold himself to her ignored my requests from London and eventually wouldn’t even answer me at all.  I have since employed several lawyers who tell me that this is obviously fraud, take on the case and then after contacting her start to ignore my calls which makes me think she is buying them off.  My present lawyer was retained in December 2009 and has now informed me that she will hand over the villa but that I can do nothing about the Hotel although it sits on land which is still in my mother’s name (she is also dead now).

I am tired of  inefficient lawyers who take my money and do nothing.  Please advise where I can find a lawyer who will not sell himself and will fight for my inheritance from an 84 year old woman who has robbed me and my children of our inheritance and is now pleading she didn’t know he was married.


We are sure you understand that your case is a complicated case, because the elapsed time, the bigamy, the wills, the declarations of “illegitimate heir”,the land being on your mother’s name, the behaviour of your first lawyer and probably of some of the following ones, etc.

The best advice we can give to you is that, if you wish to do so, send us copy of all documents you may have to this respect, details of the assets and persons involved and any other information you may consider of interest, in case we shall request you for clarifications . We shall study carefully all of it, with no cost for you, and give you our honest and professional advice re the legal actions being in course, if any, and the legal actions to undertake in case.

We look forward to hearing from you,

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