Beethoven took his nephew from the boy's mother in court; the nephew shot himself, then inherited everything

Beethoven's brother Kaspar Karl died in 1815, leaving a nine-year-old son, Karl. Beethoven called the boy's mother, Johanna, unfit and fought her in the Vienna courts for sole guardianship. He won, and Johanna lost all custody. In July 1826 Karl, then 19, shot himself in the head at the Rauhenstein ruins near Baden. He survived. He told police his uncle had "tormented him too much" and recovered at his mother's house. Beethoven, dying, made Karl his sole heir. A codicil limited Karl to the income. The capital was to go to Karl's own heirs, because Beethoven feared Karl would use it to support Johanna, who was heavily in debt. After Beethoven died, seven bank shares were found in his desk. Nobody could establish whether he had forgotten them or hidden them. The shares were held for the next generation. In 1864 and 1874 the court deposit office released shares to Karl's daughter, Karoline.