Argentine court rules Diego Maradona’s body ‘must be conserved’ for paternity cases

An Argentine court ruled Wednesday that the body of recently deceased soccer legend Diego Maradona “must be conserved” in the event his DNA is needed for future paternity cases.

Under the terms of the ruling, Maradona, who died of a heart attack in November and has already been buried outside Buenos Aires, cannot be cremated at a later date.

Former Argentinian football player Diego Maradona (C) poses as he arrive with his wife Claudia (L) and daughters Dalma (2ndL) and Giannina (R) to attend the screening of Serbian director Emir Kusturica's documentary film 'Maradona by Kusturica' at the 61st Cannes International Film Festival on May 20, 2008 in Cannes, southern France. (ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/)

The ruling was made as Maradona’s estate is divided up. So far, eight recognized children, four in Argentina, three in Cuba and one in Italy, and an additional six who have not been confirmed yet are fighting over inheritance. Santiago Lara, 19, and Magalí Gil, 23, both of Argentina, are attempting to establish Maradona as their father in court.

The estate battle is expected to become more complicated. Maradona, 60, left no will for an estate that is expected to be worth as much as $75 million, and include physical goods like Maradona’s sports cars as well as the rights to his life story. The legal proceedings could be protracted, according to experts. However, under Argentine law, if a person has no spouse, their children receive an equal share of the person’s estate.

“I predict that the inheritance process will be a mess,” attorney Elias Kier Joffe told the BBC. “I suspect it will take some time to sort out.”