Pavarotti Is Having The Last Laugh

Luciano Pavarotti's family have been left with £12 million of debts.

The passing of the opera singer - who died last month, aged 71, after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer - had sparked a row between his three daughters and his second wife over his estimated £200 million fortune.

But bank records have now revealed the Three Tenors star owed over £5 million on his homes in New York, Monte Carlo and North Italy, as well as having a £7 million overdraft at the Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank in Bologna.

Fabrizo Corsini, the lawyer representing Pavarotti's three daughters from his first marriage - Lorenza, Cristina and Giuliana - said he would be examining bank statements and documents in detail to find out exactly how much the late singer owed.

He said: "We never imagined Pavarotti would owe so much. We have received the paperwork and we are going through it with a fine toothcomb to see what exactly he had or didn't have."

Notary official Giorgio Cariani added: "We are just at the beginning of the inventory. The paperwork we have gone through is only a small part and it will take us several weeks yet to complete the work."

Now his depleted fortune will be split between his remaining family - with £5 million going to his second wife, Nicoletta Mantovani, and £1.25 million going to each of his four daughters.

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