Overview
- The estate distribution has been declared final, with long-time assistant Sébastien Jondeau, Brad Kroenig, his son Hudson Kroenig, and Baptiste Giabiconi identified as principal beneficiaries.
- Reports published over the weekend say the settlement ends roughly seven years of litigation over a contested 2016 will and complex corporate structures that delayed payouts.
- Choupette is not listed as a beneficiary because French law bars animals from inheriting, though Lagerfeld had earlier transferred a Greater Paris home and funds intended to finance the cat's upkeep.
- Françoise Caçote, Lagerfeld's former housekeeper who has cared for Choupette since 2019, has said she faced delays and legal costs before the estate provisions were enforced.
- Estimates of the estate's value vary in coverage from roughly €260 million to about €292 million, and previous reporting flagged up to €30 million in commercial value linked to Choupette's image rights.