Estate Planning

Long Time Partner of Steig Larsson speaks with the Globe and Mail

By Hull and Hull LLP

I've recently noticed that about 1 in every 4 people I see with a book happens to be reading one of the Steig Larsson Millennium Series books. For the few of you for whom that has no meaning, he is the author of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' and two other books in the series that were all published posthumously (see blogs posted by Paul Trudelle and Diane Vieira regarding the posthumous publication of these novels.) I have recently begun reading the series and find that I too can't put them down. I'm not alone, nearly 45 million copies of Larsson's books have been read worldwide, and have lead to the making of two hit movies with a third on the way.

While Larsson had signed his publishing contract shortly before his death, and thus never really knew the success of his work, his estate is reaping the rewards. Unfortunately, his partner of 32 years, Eva Gabrielsson, has received almost nothing from the estate, the unfortunate result of Larsson not leaving a valid will combined with Swedish laws. In a recent article in The Globe and Mail, Gabrielsson spoke candidly about the effect Larsson's posthumous fame has had on her life.

Gabrielsson has also recently published a novel, one which talks about the Swedish law that does not recognize common law marriage. Gabrielsson has stated that the laws are based on protecting bloodlines, leaving her without legal recourse. She has accepted the reality that her only option is to attempt to negotiate with the Larsson's and appeal to their sense of fairness. She denies recent stories of a $3 million dollar offer from the estate, and notes that the only concession which the estate has given her remains that she can have Larsson's half of the home they shared. In the face of all this, Gabrielsson retains her composure and is holding her cards close. She has refused to sell the partially completed fourth novel in the Millennium Series which had been started by Larsson before his death, to the estate. I suppose this unpublished partial novel may be the driving force for negotiation between Gabrielsson and the estate.

It appears that even 6 years after his death, with an estate now worth millions of dollars, which on intestacy now belongs to Larsson's brother and father, will remain the subject of debate for years to come. For those of us who are Larsson fans, we will just have to wait and see if the fourth book in the series ever gets published.

Until tomorrow,

Nadia Harasymowycz

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on October 05, 2010 (boomark / email).