Million Dollar Poker – Niki Lauda’s widow wins inheritance dispute

It was a dirty battle fought in court. Initially, the foundation side insisted that Niki Lauda did not live in Austria, but in Ibiza – and therefore the Spanish courts were responsible. It was then claimed that Birgit Lauda was not worth an inheritance because she had hidden works of art in her inheritance. There was also a public envy campaign portraying her as greedy

Niki failed to change his will
The matter is clear: in Austria, in addition to the children from the inheritance, the woman receives a mandatory share that amounts to one sixth of the inheritance, or approximately 16 percent: “According to the law, the mandatory share must be paid within one year after the death of the testator. ” says lawyer Christoph Kerres, who represents the widow of the Formula 1 legend.

This deadline has long since passed. Monday marks five years since Niki Lauda (70) passed away.

The widow had not yet seen anything about the legally regulated mandatory part of the inheritance: “I find it very bad that I have to enforce my claim in court”, Birgit Lauda himself would have wanted a different outcome. “I have been happily married to Niki for eleven years,” she tells “Krone”.

She gave him a kidney
Before the wedding in 2008, the 45-year-old gave the three-time world champion one of her two kidneys when the dysfunction of his remaining kidney became life-threatening. As a result of his accident at the Nürburgring in 1976, Lauda lost a kidney.

Regulation in the twins’ deed of incorporation
It is unclear why ‘Niki Nazionale’ did not change his will after 2007 and therefore did not adapt it to the new family situation. Birgit Lauda and the twins Max and Mia do not appear in it.

The three-time world champion made an arrangement only for his children in the memorandum of association of the private Lauda foundation – in which Niki hid most of his assets. His widow receives a monthly benefit from the foundation, which, however, has nothing to do with the mandatory part.

In May 2023 – the ‘Krone’ reported – there was interim success for the art-loving widow. The Regional Civil Law Court in Vienna has ruled that Birgit Lauda has a fundamental right to a mandatory share and, in particular, is not unworthy of inheritance.

The judge must determine the amount of the claim
This interim success became a victory. The Higher Regional Court dismissed the opposing party’s appeal. “The appeal will not be followed. In any case, the appeal is inadmissible,” can be read in the judgment on Lauda’s estate. The foundation would therefore only have an extraordinary legal remedy. Conclusion: Birgit Lauda gets about 16 percent of the assets, which is reportedly well into the three-digit million range. No ifs and buts.

See you soon in the Palace of Justice
But is this the end of the song? No. Now the court must determine the specific amount of the inheritance. The claimant has had a private report drawn up, which a judicially sworn expert will assess: “When calculating the mandatory part, the monthly social assistance benefit is of course taken into account,” Kerres explains.

Soon the warring parties will be sitting opposite each other in court again: on one side the widow Lauda, ​​on the other side Niki’s witness and foundation lawyer Haig Asenbauer, foundation board member Attila Dogudan and Niki’s sons from his first marriage, Mathias and Lucas Lauda. The mandatory stock dispute is resolved, now the million dollar poker begins.