Gene Hackman left his children out of will, leaving fate of $80m fortune uncertain

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/gene-hackman-will-children-money-betsy-arakawa-b2715439.html

35 comments

  1. I guess now we know why they weren’t checking on their 90 year old dad with Alzheimer’s. No relationship with him anymore?

    “In her own will, Arakawa left most of her assets to Hackman. However, the document also reportedly includes a clause stating that if the couple died within 90 days of each other, it would be considered a simultaneous death and all her assets would be donated to charity.”

    “Hackman’s son Christopher has reportedly already hired Andrew M. Katzenstein, a prominent California trust and estate attorney, which could indicate he plans to challenge his father’s will.”

    Any lawyers know how this challenge is likely to go?

  2. I’ll never understand people who have such large sums of money and don’t leave it to family. Unless someone tried to murder someone else, I don’t really care what their relationship was. What the fuck is the point? What a waste 

  5. I mean if nobody wants it…. I guess I can take it 🤷‍♂️

  6. I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it forever: Hackman was an asshole.

    IDGAF if he was your favorite actor, and you thought he was amazing.

    He was an asshole to directors and now, it sounds like, his children.

  8. In other cases, how would this work? Like if someone wasn’t famous and didn’t have kids.

  9. Gene Hackman was a phenomenal actor. But he always struck me as kind of an asshole psychopath.

  15. So if you’re a poor excuse for a father wouldn’t you want to leave them some money to kind of make up for it a little bit? Especially if you’re worth 80M? Sounds like a selfish bastard to the end and probably deserved to die by himself on the floor with little dignity

  16. I hate when people say shit about children “abandoning” their parents. Dude you have NO IDEA if the person was a good parent, so save your opinion for when you do know the character of those involved!

  17. As someone that supported Gene by recently buying one of his all time great movies, the conversation, I will gladly take that money.

  18. Maybe Jackie Chan’s son and daughter can have it.

  22. Looks to me like his money will go to his kids.

    His will didn’t mention his kids so they weren’t explicitly disinherited.

    His wife’s will has a clause leaving her money to charity but seeing as how she died BEFORE Hackman that won’t go into effect.

  23. He left his fortune to his wife, which is very normal for a will, right?

    The big oops is not having a fall back clause for the children if she died before he had a chance to change the will.

    I read this as poor planning, not intentionally screwing his children. Now it will go through probate and the kids will eventually get it, right?

  24. Take it and donate it to animal needs resources and shelters, in honor of the dog that had to heartbreakingly pass away in the fashion that it did

  25. From the original source (TMZ):

    >New Mexico is a community property state, so assuming there’s no prenup, Betsy’s estate could have a lot of money and her share would go to charity.
    >
    >As for Gene’s estate … despite the fact he did not include his children in his will, they would presumably get his share since they are the most direct living heirs.

  27. She died before him so technically his estate does not pass to her. His will leaves everything to her but since at his time of death she was deceased then by most state laws, the estate then gets split by the next in line and that is his kids. Unless he specified in his will that his kids under no uncertain circumstances never get a penny, then by law the 80 million and house is theirs. They were not written out of the will it sounds like. They were just not written in. The son will prevail and by default his sisters.

  28. Ok fine I’ll take one for the team and volunteer myself for that money

  29. This is made to sound more nefarious than it likely is. Pretty common for the spouse to be named the sole beneficiary of a will. His children weren’t excluded, just not named.

  30. Sometimes it’s best you don’t meet your heroes and this is a good a case as any.

    We don’t know what kind of relationship dynamics existed with Gene and his kids, but to say one way or another so matter of factly would be conjecture at best and spurious at worse.

  31. He was an asshole absentee father who left everything to his second younger trophy wife instead of his kids or grandkids. It’s no wonder nobody checked in on him.

  33. Now it makes sense why he died alone over a several day period and no one checked up on him. Makes 100% sense.

  34. If they wouldn’t even come check on him when he was 95 I’m not surprised. My dad was a jerk too but I did make sure he was ok.

  35. Wills are probated but a trust os not . This is common when a celebrity dies everyone thinks the kids didn’t get anything but it’s just not public

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