The estimated $80 million fortune of legendary actor Gene Hackman may not go to his kids if the terms of his 1995 will are allowed to stand, according to TMZ.
The 1995 document left his entire estate to Hackman's wife, Betsy Arakawa, who was found dead with him in their home in New Mexico last month.
Arakawa left most of her estate to Hackman, but she had a clause in her will that could throw a monkey wrench into everything.
A provision in her will says that if they die within 90 days of each other, her estate would go to charity.
That could leave out Hackman's adult children Christopher, Leslie, and Elizabeth.
Hackman reportedly had a strained relationship with his kids with late ex-wife Faye Maltese for a while, but in his later years they got along better even though they didn't see him too often.
The Independent reported that Christopher has hired prominent estate attorney Andrew M. Katzenstein, which may indicate that he plans to challenge the will.
TMZ seemed to think the kids could get at least some of Hackman's millions because of the strange way the wills were done and their age.
Also, it appears that Arakawa died first of hantavirus, which may make the clause in her will void. Logically, she couldn't inherit any of Hackman's money if she died first.
In other news, representative for Hackman's estate Julia Peters asked a local court to block the release of any autopsy-related information from the public.
Peters was especially concerned about the photos of their bodies, which had reportedly lain in the house for at least a week.
The couple “lived an exemplary private life for over 30 years in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and did not showcase their lifestyle,” the petition said.
As private as the Hackmans were, they surely would not want pictures of their dead bodies all over the news.
Because of the unusual nature of their deaths, it's certain they've been in the news a lot more than they wanted to be.
