Stieg Larsson (1954-2004)

When writer Stieg Larsson died of a heart attack in Stockholm at the age of 50, he was not exactly penniless but he was not wealthy either - certainly not as rich as he quickly became, albeit posthumously.

A journalist and anti-racist campaigner, Larsson was also a secret writer of thrillers who, when he died, left behind three completed novels.

They were promptly published, and Larsson became a runaway success almost overnight: his Millennium series - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest - sold millions.

And more novels may arrive posthumously, thanks to drafts in his computer.

In addition to brilliant manuscripts, Larsson also left behind an old and, more importantly, unsigned will. He also left behind no marriage certificate, although he and his girlfriend wanted to get married. But they refrained from walking down the aisle for particular practical reasons rather than ideological opposition.

No will, plenty of confusion and ill will

Who inherited his estate and the rights to his works? Who are his current and future beneficiaries? Alas, the answers do not contain the name of the woman he had been living with for 32 years and almost became his wife.

Larsson wrote a will in 1977 that reflected his political leanings. His beneficiary was the local branch of the the Communist Workers League.

Twenty-seven years later, when he died, he was still deeply committed to the anti-fascist cause. He was also deeply devoted to architect Eva Gabrielsson, his decades-long companion. But he died intestate and, in Sweden as in England and Wales, the rules of intestacy dictate that his beneficiaries were his blood relatives - in this case, his brother and father.

Skip some chapters to November 2009 and matters are far from harmonious. Larsson's computer, which reportedly contains publishable material, is in Eva Gabrielsson's possession.

Larsson's heirs - his father and brother - reportedly offered her more than a million pounds to settle any inheritance claims she might have, and also to obtain the computer. She refused.

Who owns the computer and the data on its hard drive?

Who owns the rights to any manuscripts Larsson might have left behind, on this computer or elsewhere?

Did Larsson and Gabrielsson own their home jointly or as tenants in common?

Many intriguing questions remain to be answered in this saga, which almost had a totally different outcome. Larsson and Gabrielsson had considered tying the knot but were deterred because Swedish law insists that marriage certificates contain the address of the happy couple. Larsson had made many enemies from his ant-fascist activities. He supposedly refused to marry to deny them the knowledge of where he lived.