Laura Smet had started the fire in February 2018. Laeticia Hallyday put it out this Friday by announcing "the conclusion of the final agreement", with the great daughter of Johnny, after two and a half years of judicial and media war. Absent from this agreement but in solidarity with this reconciliation, David Hallyday announced four hours later by his lawyer that he withdrew from any legal action.
This signature written between lawyers, this Friday noon in Paris, leads to the end of the legal proceedings that Laura Smet and David Hallyday had launched to cancel the American will drawn up in 2014 by their father, testament in which neither one nor the others did not appear in the inheritance. Polluted in their private and professional lives by this affair and overtaken by the taxman, Laeticia, Laura and David decided to turn the page.
Why is the taxman at the heart of the agreement?
A confidentiality agreement was also signed between the parties on Friday. But according to our information, Laura and David finally accepted their father's will, that is to say, the sharing of his property in favor of Laeticia, Jade and Joy. In exchange, the two older rockers are "protected" from their father's debts. It is Laeticia which undertakes to pay the tax debt estimated at 34 million euros. The artist's wife was sentenced in the spring to a first fine of 13 million euros for a slate before 2014. And by declaring Johnny a French resident, the justice system prompted new investigations by the tax administration on succession.
On the musical heritage, Laeticia retains the profits generated by Johnny's record sales - 600,000 euros per year -, but Laura recovers the rights to the song "Laura" that her father had written for her and David those for the albums " Sang pour Sang "- which he composed and directed and which sold two million copies in 1999 - and" Cadillac ", released in 1989, which features two of his songs.
They share the moral right over Johnny's work, that is to say the use of music or the image of the star. Laeticia retains control of the work and the name of her husband but she will now share the decisions on its use in agreement with Laura and David. "This amounts to applying French law which wants moral rights to be shared between the widow and the children of the deceased," deciphers a relative of Laura. This is not a gift. Laeticia also keeps Johnny's real estate heritage, including the house in Marnes-la-Coquette and the property in Saint-Barth.
Why is it better?
The love lives of Laeticia Hallyday and Laura Smet have eased the tensions. The first has been in a relationship for a year with a 48-year-old Parisian restaurateur, Pascal Balland. The second was married in June 2019 to Raphaël Lancrey-Javal, a 51-year-old entrepreneur. They are expecting their first child by the end of the summer. "Laura is five months pregnant, she wants to turn the page, says a loved one. And she recovered objects from her father that were close to her heart, a sofa, a statue, cowboy boots… ”
VIDEO. Johnny recognized French resident, what does it change for the heirs?
The return of André Boudou, the father of Laeticia Hallyday, in cold with her for 5 years also weighed. Seeing that the legal proceedings agreed with Laura and David and that the image of his daughter was increasingly tarnished, it was he who encouraged his daughter to change advice and strategy. They took on the services of the father's Montpellier lawyer, Gilles Gauer, a Parisian tax specialist, Pierre Pradié, and Jacques Verrecchia, Johnny's historical collaborator, to defend Jade and Joy. Laeticia has also hired consultant Anne Hommel, a communications specialist specializing in crisis situations.
Why did David not sign the agreement?
David Hallyday, too, had a vested interest in bringing peace. "We are delighted with this agreement," says his lawyer. If he did not sign it, it is according to his lawyer Pierre-Jean Douvier, just that "David withdrew from the negotiations". "We didn't sign anything because we didn't ask for anything," comments the council. It was Laura who had this stroke, David followed him out of solidarity. The only things that mattered to us were Johnny's memory and the protection of children, and we have them. "
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According to his lawyer, the singer is satisfied with the way in which Laeticia "protects the memory of Johnny" since his disappearance ". And the artist, very discreet about this matter from the start, wants to focus on music. His latest album, "I have something to tell you," sold 150,000 copies. His tour was a success. He has just recorded a new album which will be released at the end of the year. "We have to get better, we have no choice," he admitted to us a year ago. You cannot stay huddled in its shell indefinitely. "
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