Beatriz Sarlo: New locks, handwriting expertise, and heirs at odds after the third hearing.
The third hearing In the succession of Beatriz Sarlo , cited by Judge Fernando Cesari, in charge of the National Civil Court No. 60, it concluded like the previous ones: there was no agreement "at the moment" between the four aspiring heirs , but the "conciliatory" negotiations continue.
Beatriz Sarlo interviewed in her studio. Photo: Jorge Noro, courtesy.Goalkeeper Melanio Alberto Meza López, her ex-husband Alberto Sato, and the deceased's first cousins , Ernestina Susana Del Río and Álvaro Edmundo Sarlo Sabajanes, appeared with their respective lawyers. Someone will have to give in, as the title of the unforgettable film starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton said.
There were two other developments in the trial . The first is that the judge ruled that, since two relatives had come forward to prove their connection to the deceased essayist, the City Government is now free of any involvement , as this is no longer a vacant inheritance. The Buenos Aires Attorney General's Office will be notified shortly.
This will be a relief to Sarlo's inner circle, closely aligned with Sato, from whom the author of La intimidad pública separated 50 years ago and lived with her partner, the late filmmaker Rafael Filipelli, for the next 40 years. As left-wing intellectuals who maintain a dialogue with Sato, a resident of Chile, they have always made public their desire that the intellectual rights to Beatriz Sarlo's work remain in the hands of her ex-husband , and not the Buenos Aires state. Sato's future in the succession, labeled testamentary, remains to be seen.
Some time ago, the full content of the report was intentionally leaked to a media outlet.
The second new development is that the transfer to the parties of the handwriting expertise was reactivated, which, as Clarín was able to verify, only issued a ruling on the authenticity of Beatriz Sarlo's handwriting and signature in the documents that the person in charge, Meza López, presented at the trial, one of them as a supposed holographic will .
The expert report says nothing about Beatriz Sarlo's state of health or the circumstances under which these documents were written and signed. And, according to reliable court sources, they are not even referred to as a "will."
Among the various measures that were presented in the Sarlo estate, which is moving slowly and steadily, the expert report was stalled . The parties involved had not been notified of its contents. This is to say that, no matter how electronic the current judicial system is, the parties did not have access to its contents. From now on, the deadline will run for the lawyers to approve it, challenge it, or request an extension of the expert report, which is only handwriting-related.
Some time ago, the full content of the expert report was intentionally leaked to a media outlet . Strictly speaking, the expert report doesn't favor anyone , since the subject of the dispute is the content, due to the vagueness of the deceased's will. To summarize: the handwriting expert report doesn't legitimize the document as a holographic will. That is the sole responsibility of the judge in charge of the case.
Expertise does not favor anyone, since the object of the controversy is the content.
Another recent fact worth highlighting is that the lock on Sarlo's office on Talcahuano Street was changed , from where his close circle of friends moved his books and archive to the CeDInCI (Center for Documentation and Research on Left-Wing Culture), at the express request of Beatriz Sarlo , who was still alive but already ill.
The measure to change the locks on the apartment at Hidalgo 140 and the office was requested by the attorney for cousin Ernestina Del Río. The court has already received a response from Banco Nación (it is normal for a letter to be sent to this state bank), confirming the existence of an account with funds in the name of Beatriz Sarlo. This will allow for the payment of expenses justifiably incurred in the case.
Beatriz Sarlo interviewed in her studio. Photo: Jorge Noro, courtesy.The court-approved change to both locks doesn't bode well for doorman Meza López, who had a set of keys to enter Sarlo's apartment during January and February of this year, after her death, and even before, when the writer was ill and Meza assisted her with her cat, Niní, and with paperwork.
Let's remember that Beatriz Sarlo's succession began at the urging of her ex, Sato, whom the intellectual's friends supported from the beginning because they knew him. When the person in charge of the succession proceedings was informed, he showed up with the documents signed by the essayist, and relations between Sato and Meza—which had initially been cordial—smoothed.
Beatriz Sarlo interviewed in her studio. Photo: Jorge Noro, courtesy.The entanglement between the two paved the way for the City Attorney General's Office, the agency that files as a party in unfilled inheritance cases. Everything became complicated with the appearance of cousin Ernestina on the scene and, later, when cousin Álvaro entered the case . A tangle that excites any lawyer, but one that is difficult to unravel.
Clarin
