Saban Saulic's Will: Dedinje Villa Cannot Be Sold

The will Saban Saulic wrote three months before his death is back in the spotlight. Outlets including Informer and Telegraf published details on September 4 of who the legendary singer left his property to, with part of that reporting tracing back to an earlier story published by the outlet Republika.

Saban Saulic died on February 17, 2019, in a car crash in Germany. The crash happened in the early morning hours. Alongside Saban in the car were his musician Mirsad Keric, who was driving, and the singer’s best man, Slobodan Stojadinovic.

”As If He Knew Something Terrible Was Coming”

According to a source close to the family, Saban had been noticeably on edge in the period before the crash. One morning he asked his wife Gordana, known within the family as Goca, to call the family lawyer. She initially tried to talk him out of it, telling him he was overreacting and that there was plenty of time for that. He wouldn’t drop it, and she eventually gave in.

“Saban had been quite anxious lately, as if he sensed something terrible was about to happen. One morning he woke up and asked Goca to call the family lawyer. He told her he hadn’t been feeling well for some time and wanted to draw up a will. She told him he was overreacting and that there was time for that, but since he insisted, she eventually did as he asked,” a source close to the Saulic family told Telegraf.

The will, according to the same account, was drawn up at the family home, with Goca present.

Who Gets What Under the Will

The contents of the will were first reported by Republika, and picked up by Informer and Telegraf on September 4.

“The will was drawn up at their family home, in Goca’s presence. In it, he explicitly stated that he was leaving his wife the villa, worth around a million euros, in which she holds a lifetime right of use, after which it passes to their children and grandchildren. He also left the house in Krcedin to his grandchildren, while the three apartments in Belgrade were split among his three children: Mihajlo, Ilda and Sanela. The will reportedly states explicitly that the Dedinje house and the Krcedin estate can never be sold, while the children are free to do as they wish with the apartments. Beyond the real estate, Saulic authorized his wife to manage the savings held in accounts opened in his name. Family friends claim those accounts hold at least 500,000 euros, and that money goes to Gordana Saulic,” Republika reported.

Putting the reported details together, the breakdown looks like this:

• The Dedinje villa, valued at around a million euros: Gordana Saulic, with a lifetime right of use, passing afterward to the children and grandchildren
• Three apartments in Belgrade: Mihajlo, Ilda and Sanela, one each
• The house in Krcedin: the grandchildren
• Savings held in bank accounts, at least 500,000 euros according to family friends: Gordana Saulic

The ban on selling applies to only two properties, the Dedinje villa and the Krcedin estate. The will places no such restriction on the three Belgrade apartments, which the children can dispose of as they see fit.

Ilda Saulic’s Name Comes Up Again

Ilda Saulic, one of Saban’s three children, was already the subject of a story on our site this year, “Ilda Saulic: I Said Yes, Ten Years of Marriage Today.” The will now circulating in the media ties directly into that inheritance, through the apartment her father left her.

Seven years after Saban’s death, the will is still raising the same questions: who got what, and what can and can’t be sold. Gordana Saulic has not publicly commented on the reported details so far.