The will of legendary actor Gene Hackman has been released, but uncertainty lingers over his $80m (£62m) fortune.
The two-time Academy Award winner left his entire estate to his wife, Betsy Arakawa. The couple was found dead in their New Mexico home in February.
Although Hackman’s three children were not named in his will, they may still have a claim to his estate under state laws.
But they would need to prove that the will is invalid because Arakawa died a week before Hackman, a legal expert told the BBC. His children have not commented publicly on the will.
Warning: This story contains details some readers may find upsetting
Legal documents obtained by the BBC show Hackman, 95, named Arakawa, 65, as his sole beneficiary in 1995, with the last update to the will in 2005.
Authorities say Arakawa passed away on 11 February after contracting a rare virus, seven days before Hackman died of natural causes.
The couple – married for more than 30 years – was found dead in separate rooms of their $4m Santa Fe home on 26 February after neighbourhood security conducted a welfare check and saw their bodies on the ground through a window.
Arakawa was found in the bathroom with pills scattered nearby, while Hackman was in the back of the house, wearing sweatpants and slippers, his cane and sunglasses beside him.
Officials determined he died seven days after his wife due to severe heart disease, with advanced Alzheimer’s listed as a contributing factor.
Authorities initially deemed the scene “suspicious” but later ruled out foul play.
Hackman shared three children with his late ex-wife, Faye Maltese: Christopher, 65; Elizabeth, 62; and Leslie, 58.
California attorney Tre Lovell told the BBC that Hackman’s children could challenge the will.
He said unless an alternative beneficiary is named in his trust, the estate could default to his children under succession laws.
“The estate will actually be probated in accordance with intestate succession laws and the children would be lawfully next in line to inherit,” he said.
Mr Lovell added that if Hackman’s children challenge the will, they would need to prove that it is invalid because Arakawa died before him.
Arakawa’s own will left her assets to Hackman, with a provision that if they died within 90 days of each other, her estate would go to a trust and later be donated to charity after covering medical expenses.
Hackman has in the past discussed his relationship with his children.
“You become very selfish as an actor,” he told The New York Times in 1989. “Even though I had a family, I took jobs that would separate us for three or four months at a time. The temptations in that, the money and recognition, it was too much for the poor boy in me.”
Hackman’s children, though rarely in the public eye, occasionally attended red carpet events with him.
In another interview, Hackman talked about the difficulty his children had of growing up with a parent who was constantly in the spotlight.
“It’s tough being the son or daughter of a celebrity,” he told The Irish Independent in 2000. “I couldn’t always be home with them when they were growing up, and then, living in California, they’ve had my success always hanging over their heads.”
His daughters and granddaughter expressed deep affection for him after his passing.
“He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us, he was always just Dad and Grandpa,” they said. “We will miss him sorely, and are devastated by the loss.”
