Pope Benedict XVI's cousins stand to inherit his money. None of them want it.
Pope Benedict XVI during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square on October 24, 2007. (AP Photo/Plinio Lepri, FILE)
The surviving relatives of the late Pope Benedict XVI stand to inherit money from his legacy, according to the executor of his last will and testament. None of these relatives seem willing to touch it.
One cousin has already refused to accept the inheritance; four others have not yet responded. If they are smart, they will turn it down as well.
The problem is that, by accepting the money, an heir also takes over any legal claims against the deceased, according to estate laws in Germany, where the cousins all live. Joseph Ratzinger, as he was known before adopting his papal name, is a defendant in one of the most-watched cases of clerical sexual abuse in the country.
