Luciano Pavarotti will row

11 September 2007 - The late Luciano Pavarotti's three daughters are set to battle his second wife over his £250 million fortune.

The Italian tenor - who passed away last week after losing his battle against pancreatic cancer - changed his will last month in favour of Lorenza, Cristina and Giuliana, his daughters from his first marriage.

However, Pavarotti's second wife Nicoletta - the mother of his three-year-old daughter Alice - believes she should be entitled to more.

Friends now expect a fight for his assets, which include several homes in New York, Monte Carlo and his Italian home town Modena.

Andrea Strata, his dietician, said: It's all very sad - he isn't even cold in his tomb yet and now all this is coming out.

Sources claim the 'Nessun Dorma' singer's relationship with Nicoletta had cooled in the months leading up to his death and they were only staying together for the sake of Alice.

Pavarotti - who was 71 when he died - reportedly visited a lawyer to change his will in favour of Lorenza, Cristina and Giuliana as well as young Alice.

A friend added: Businesses that were in other family members' names were returned to his name.

The original document was drawn up just last year in New York, where Nicoletta spends much of her time.

Friends also claim the opera legend had also grown closer to his first wife Adua Veroni, with whom their daughters sided after he left her to marry Nicoletta.

Dietician Strata's wife, Franca, claims Nicolette called her in a panic six weeks ago after it emerged Pavarotti was close to death.

She allegedly wanted papers relating to the couple's three New York apartments and thought they might be at the Stratas' home, where her husband often stayed.

Franca said: She couldn't find them anywhere and was very concerned.

She asked me to look for them in my safe to see if Luciano had left them here by mistake as he was always staying at my house. But they weren't here - who knows where they are?

(C) BANG Media International