Monday, 22 September 2014 - 12:46
Austrian millionaire's body to be exhumed in Dutchman's inheritance claim
The body of Austrian millionaire Siegfried Fink will be exhumed tomorrow, to finally answer the question about whether he really fathered Dutchman Ronald Nijman.
Nijman (42), who was adopted as child and grew up in the Netherlands, launched a multi-million inheritance claim a few years back, after discovering that Fink could be his real father. He had been born illegitimately in 1970 in Feldkirch, Austria and was handed over to a local monastery, given up for adoption and finally ended up growing up in the Netherlands.
In 2008 he started tracking down his real parents His mother had already passed away and the man who signed his birth certificate claimed he only did so because Fink paid him to. It appeared that the wealthy millionaire from Dornbirn was Nijman’s real father.
Fink’s two legitimate children welcomed Nijman with open arms and then –after four days- asked him to forego the millions of Fink’s inheritance that he was entitled to under Austrian law; the law says that children –legitimate and illegitimate- are guaranteed a share of their parents wealth and it isn't possible to disinherit them.
Nijman did not sign the document his new siblings wanted him to sign and started legal procedures, which then took an unexpected turn when DNA comparisons raised questioned about whether Fink’s two “legitimate” children had really been fathered by him.
The exhumation of Fink’s body tomorrow is supposed to answer provide these answers. Volkskrant daily, which reported this today, said that in any case, there is striking physical resemblance between Nijman and Fink.