Following the death of Gene and Betsy Hackman in Santa Fe, New Mexico, earlier this month, the fate of the actor’s millions in estate inheritance is uncertain as his living will, it was revealed on Friday, left out his three adult children while leaving everything to his wife, who died in their mansion at least a week before him.
On March 7, officials in New Mexico announced that two-time Academy Award winner Gene had died around Feb. 17. The 95-year-old Hollywood icon died of severe cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributory factor, and he survived in the home he shared with his wife for a week after she died in their living room of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but severe respiratory illness.
Betsy was the second wife of the revered actor; the couple had no kids over their 30-year marriage. He had three children — Christopher Allen, 65, Leslie Anne, 58, and Elizabeth Jean, 62 — with his first wife, Faye Maltese. He spoke in interviews of a frosty relationship with his kids, as he was frequently away filming during their formative years. His relationship with Leslie Anne seemed to have been solid at the time of his death. She discussed having spoken with him semi-recently but not during his final weeks.
On Friday, TMZ reported that Gene’s will left nothing to his three children and everything to Betsy, who was also listed as the sole executor of the will, citing a trust agreement made Sept. 22, 1995. The will was written in June 2005 and submitted in the Santa Fe County court on March 6, People reported.
TMZ also reported that Betsy’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; Betsy’s will states that in this case, all of her assets would go to charity.
On Friday, a source close to the Hackmans told The Hollywood Reporter that Gene had a trust established and that in terms of his assets, his will is going to “ultimately leave everything to the trust.” A trust is a legal arrangement wherein an individual arranges a transfer of assets to a trustee, who manages them for the benefit of one or multiple beneficiaries.
Details on Gene’s trust are not a matter of public record, so it is unclear who will receive the reported $80 million in his estate following his death. That aside, the actor’s adult children seem to have a glimmer of hope of receiving a piece of the sizable fortune.
In a September 1995 agreement, Gene appointed the remainder of a trust, called the GeBe Revocable Trust, in favor of Betsy as the successor, People reported. Following the death of the attorney set up as an executor in the event of Betsy’s death in 2019, Julia Peters was appointed as Gene’s second successor for personal representation of his estate; Peters is chief counsel at Santa Fe investment firm Avalon Trust.
Following the actor’s death, Peters filed court documents alongside Gene’s will that identify Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie as his heirs, People reported. At the time, Peters was also deemed by the court as the informal personal representative of Gene’s estate moving forward.