Legal battle looms over Gene Hackman’s will
It is unclear who will receive the reported $80 million (£62 million) in Gene Hackman’s estate following his death.
In the wake of the shocking double demise of Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, details have come to light about the actor’s will, which reportedly leaves his estate to his wife.
Hackman and Arakawa did not have children together.
The actor has three children – son Christopher Allen, 65, and daughters Leslie Anne, 58, and Elizabeth Jean, 62 – from his earlier marriage to Faye Maltese.
Hackman had spoken in interviews of a patchy relationship with his kids; he was frequently away filming during their formative years.
TMZ reported that Arakawa’s will leaves most of her assets to Gene, yet a provision states that if they died within 90 days of each other, their deaths would be considered simultaneous, and Arakawa’s assets would go into a trust for charity causes.
Gene is said to have endorsed the latest version of his will on 7 June 2005. The timeline of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis remains a mystery.
Official findings revealed that Arakawa succumbed to a rare virus transmitted by rats around 11 February, while Hackman is believed to have died from heart disease one week later.
