When you are the first-born who suddenly loses his father, then, as psychologists say, you really come of age, and this is something Christos Kougias has been experiencing very intensely lately.

The 23-year-old young man, a student in his final year of law school, was asked to bear the burden of the loss of Alexis Kougias and take on great responsibility. Among them, to close civil disputes that his father had with various people who came into conflict with him, since, as he says in his environment: “The words my father had said about certain people did not express me, just as they did not express Myra, since it is not in our temperament.“

His 21-year-old sister, Myra Kougias, also a law student in Cyprus, a particularly low-key girl, stands silently by his side after their father’s death and the next day in their lives. A life that changes drastically, as both are the sole heirs to Alexis Kougias’ large fortune, which he had stated in an interview that it exceeds 50 million euros: “I have a fortune that exceeds 50 million euros. I have 28 properties in Athens, Mykonos, Crete, Othoni, Meganisi and 12 cars. I acquired them out of my complex of not having a house, living in basements.”

Among them are known Alexis Kougias’ house in Vouliagmeni, his holiday home in Mykonos, another in Arachova, his private offices on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, and a hotel in central Athens.

Christos Kougias is preparing to take over his father’s law firm from next year, while his mother, Evie Vatidou, is not included in the will reportedly left by Alexis Kougias, despite the fact that his family will not confirm her existence. As Christos Kougias stressed to a relative a few 24 hours after the last goodbye to his father, this is a matter that concerns the family and no one else, especially the channels and TV shows.

It is considered unlikely, however, that the man who calculated in meticulous detail everything in his life in and out of court would not have drawn up a will, especially since he was facing cancer. As much as he thought he would beat it, he would not leave anything to chance, let alone his children’s future when he was no longer with them.

The estate and the will

On Sunday, Christos Kougias turned 23, only this year he didn’t celebrate, as his father’s death put everything else on the back burner. He used to blow out the candles on his birthday cake with him every year on this day, since his father was the first person to wish him a happy birthday, something he will never experience again after his loss.

At the same time, the issue of the estate that the deceased leaves behind has been the main menu of the morning and afternoon lifestyle shows in recent days, which has embarrassed his children, who cannot understand how such a delicate issue that only concerns their family can be on the channels.

Christos Kougias: Stop dealing with our property and personal issues

Thus, disappointed by the attitude of some journalists, the son of the criminal lawyer, stresses that he will not make any more statements until the attitude and behavior of some, towards him, his sister and their mother, Evie Vatidou, changes.

“Since the past few days, articles have been going up about our property situation and articles concerning our relationship with our mother, Evie Vatidou. What I have to say is that I have informed all the journalists I know since Saturday that I will not make any more statements because of their unacceptable attitude on Saturday at my father’s funeral,” Christos Kougias wrote in a post.

“While I had decided to maintain the relationship my father had developed with them, I see in practice how at least the journalists of the morning news act and I am disappointed. You have been writing gibberish for days now, informing people with irrelevant and unsubstantiated things and I am frankly amazed. But I understand you are dropping leave to find full ones, makes sense to me since there is no longer anyone to fill your reports. The name Kougias as I have said before will not die, but you will not keep it. We will preserve it based on our actions. I repeat, I have no intention of speaking again for a while on any channel, unless the attitude of journalists towards us changes. Anyway, from my family’s relationship with journalists, they all know that the winners are you and not us.“

However, as Christos and Myra Kouia have made clear in conversations with very private persons, “we are the sole heirs of our father’s estate”. Which – if anything – shows that the situation is clear when it comes to the assets that Alexis Kougias leaves behind after a decades-long career in the law.

On the contrary, his ex-wife Evi Vatidou is reportedly left nothing, which is rather expected, as their relationship has remained typical for years, especially after their high-profile divorce. Christos Kougias was very young when his parents divorced and doesn’t remember much of those tumultuous days that are hard to forget. In his circle he says there is an understanding with his mother and as long as that is the case “we are fine. She helps us through these times and protects us.”

The office and the fronts

It is clear that the first-born son of the famous criminal lawyer has made the future of the office that lost its leader, the one who never let anything go down and bombarded the media with press releases, a top priority. There was a day when he had sent out seven bulletins on different cases or to respond to what someone said about him and then it was said “even a TV channel doesn’t send out that many bulletins.”

In conversations he has had with very close friends and also with partners of the office founded by his father, Christos Kougias said that “I will take over from next year”. That is, as soon as he completes his studies at the Law School, of which he is a student in his fifth year, and completes his internship, he will dive into deep and uncharted waters for him.

For now, he has complete confidence in his late father’s close associates, who will run the very many cases the office has taken on in the coming months.

In private conversations with his own people, the criminal lawyer’s son has made it clear that “my sister and I are different people from my father. Our job is not to create enemies, so we will withdraw all civil litigation with people our father confronted.”

Already several of them will step back after Alexis Kougias’ death, while according to reliable information, Lakis Lazopoulos withdrew his lawsuit against Alexis Kougias months ago, as soon as he was informed of his health condition. Considering that the “devil’s advocate”, as many called him, was fighting an uphill battle, the popular star chose to close the legal front with the criminal lawyer, leaving behind everything that had been done.

Dimitris Melissanidis, Theo Karpidis and Othon Papadopoulos did the same, with whom Christos Kougias reportedly contacted personally, while he has not received a response from Spyros Bibilas and his lawyer. As he wrote in a post, “when we contacted him yesterday, not only did he not express his condolences to us, but falsely told us that he would contact us himself later in the day,” which did not happen.

Of those who close their fronts, only Grigoris Vallianatos is excluded, who showed with his posts that he has no problem insulting Alexis Kougias even after his death. Although Christos Kougias said that if he apologizes for certain expressions – such as “a good criminal lawyer is a dead criminal lawyer” – he will consider the matter closed, this is not on the horizon, so if nothing changes, he will take legal action against the man in question.

On Friday Gregory Vallianatos made it known that he had spoken with Evi Vatidou about the issue of his postings, noting: “I begged her to accept and convey to her children my regret for the interpretation of my writings that caused them anger and protest, which she accepted.“