Sometimes, behind an exclusive bubble, is dissatisfaction, treachery, and even savagery hidden below the thin veneer of money, extravagance, and celebrity.
But this bubble frequently pops and exposes the hidden realities when a wealthy person passes away. This was the case with Maria Malfatti, an Italian lady who passed away in November 2023 and possessed vast fortunes exceeding $5 million.
A caretaker in Albania received the entire €5 million ($5.4 million) fortune left by an Italian woman without any direct heirs, totally surprising her ten nephews who had been awaiting the inheritance.
Maria Malfatti, an 80-year-old Italian who was descended from one of the most well-known families in Rovereto, a town in the Trento region, passed away in November. The woman possessed numerous valuable assets, including several flats, a historic structure in the town center, and substantial quantities of money stored in bank accounts. Valeriano Malfatti was a descendent of the previous Rovereto mayor and vice-president of Vienna’s Parliament.
But since Maria Malfatti was childless and had never married, her nephews would be the ones to receive the family money.
Apparently, the woman had other ideas, as she chose to give everything to the Albanian woman who had taken care of her for the previous few years, right down to the last cent.
The nature of Maria Malfatti’s connection with her nephews is unknown, but her relatives were undoubtedly taken aback when they found out that they had all been passed over in favor of the woman who had been the octogenarian’s caregiver. After reading the deceased woman’s will, they got in touch with attorney Luca Fedrizzi and filed a petition to have the Malfatti estate frozen. They said that the late Maria Malfatti had been taken advantage of by her Albanian caregiver and had lost her mind due to old age.
The late woman’s nephews are certain that the executor excluded them entirely from the will and named herself as the only heir to the Malfatti inheritance. Since there was too much chance that the assets might be sold, the judge decided to freeze them altogether while further inquiry clarifies the situation.
If someone had been neglecting them and was simply waiting for the inheritance to fall into their lap, this wouldn’t be the first time they had disregarded their family. A Chinese widow earlier this year excluded her three children from her will because they had neglected her, leaving her $2.8 million wealth to her dogs.