Nearly a month after the unexpected passing of legendary actor Gene Hackman, new details have surfaced about his $80 million estate and the complicated inheritance process unfolding in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were discovered deceased in their home, with investigations revealing Betsy succumbed to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, followed by Gene’s death a week later.

This tragic sequence has sparked questions about the fate of the Gene Hackman estate, drawing attention from fans and legal experts.

Inheritance Drama Unfolds

Gene’s will, signed in 2005, left his entire fortune to Betsy, excluding his three children: Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Anne Hackman from his first marriage to Faye Maltese.

Betsy’s will mirrored this, naming Gene as her beneficiary, with a clause directing her assets to charity if they died within 90 days of each other and Gene predeceased her. However, since Betsy passed first, the Gene Hackman estate now falls under intestate succession laws, potentially positioning his children as heirs.

Legal experts, including California attorney Tre Lovell, note that proving Betsy’s death preceded Gene’s is key. “The estate will be probated per intestate laws, making the children next in line,” Lovell told BBC News.

Meanwhile, David Esquibias clarified to People, “Betsy’s estate transferred to Gene’s trust upon her death, and since he outlived her, the trust now dictates the assets’ fate.”

Julia L. Peters, appointed executor after the 2019 death of original executor Michael G. Sutin, oversees this complex process, with court documents officially naming Gene’s children as heirs.

The estate includes the couple’s $3.8 million Santa Fe home, a 12-acre retreat where they lived quietly after Hackman’s Hollywood exit in the 1980s.

Known for their community ties, the couple’s property and legacy remain under scrutiny as legal proceedings continue. While the children are poised to inherit, no official family claims have been publicized, leaving the Gene Hackman estate’s future uncertain.