The estate of former Yugoslavian dictator Tito, which has been stalled for 35 years, will possibly be closed by early 2016.
The estate of Joseph Broz Tito, who ruled over Yugoslavia as a dictator for more than 30 years, may finally be approaching closure 35 years after his death.
Tito passed away in 1980 and in 1983 one of his sons, who is also now deceased, first asked the court system for a division of the property. A court did reach a decision in 1989, but Tito’s widow refused to accept that property division and it was later ruled unconstitutional by a higher court. Now another court has heard all of the evidence in the case and is scheduled to make a ruling in January of 2016.
Much of the dictator’s property has already been claimed. The “successor states” that formed when Yugoslavia fell apart claimed various villas and cars in their territories. However, the National Bank of Serbia has a safe containing many precious and valuable items still subject to the ongoing estate dispute.
Tito’s son and three grandsons are claiming the property as is the government of Serbia. To complicate matters further the members of the former royal family are involved in the dispute. They claim some of the property belongs to them and they want it returned.
Balkan Insight reported this story in an article entitled “Belgrade Court to Divide Up Tito’s Property.”
Of course, it is not certain that another court decision will be the last after 35 years of indecision.
Reference: Balkan Insight (Dec. 17, 2015) “Belgrade Court to Divide Up Tito’s Property.”
