Hypothetical question regarding his Last Will & Testament
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Lilith — 1 year ago(March 14, 2025 10:47 PM)
I agree that it should go to whatever charity Betsy wanted. That part of her Will that specified "if they were to die within 90 days of each other" did not specify if she were to die first, or if he were to die first; it just stated if their deaths were within 90 days of each other. That seems pretty specific to me, but I can see where Hackman's children are going to try and contest this precisely because she died first.
It still seems like the terms of the Will were provided for with the dates of their deaths. It's a rather unique qualification, don't you think? I can't imagine including something so precise in my Will.
"Your emotional state is not my responsibility." – Warren Smith -
Wu Ming — 1 year ago(March 14, 2025 08:00 PM)
Lilith March 15, 2025 04:05 AM
Member since April 16, 2019
Hackman made his Will in the 90s when he was clearly of sound mind, and he left everything to his wife, Betsy, and decidedly left no inheritance to any of his three children. I think his estate was valued at around $90 million or something (but I don't recall). Betsy made her Will out and in it there was a very specific (and unique) clause (which in retrospect seems eerie) which states that "if she and Gene were to die within 90 days of each other, ALL of the money would be donated to charity."
Paying close attention to the wording, there is nothing which stated in what order Gene or Betsy would or could die relative to each other. It's simply a broad yet precise statement granting a 90-day perspective relative to their deaths.
Hackman clearly did not want to leave his children any of his money. I also assume he expected that given Betsy was 30 years younger, she would live long enough to benefit from the contents of his Will.
Now, the children, in particular, Hackman's eldest son has retained a lawyer to fight the terms of his father's Will in an attempt to access his father's money now that both Gene and Betsy have passed.
I do not know the law, so I don't know what could, or should, happen in these cases, but hypothetically, do you think that given Gene made his decision as far back as the 90s that he did not want his children to receive anything, given these circumstances, should the money from the Hackman estate go to charity or to the children?
That's quite a long question.
The header of the article below seems not to fit the death situation as we know it
now
.
But it answers
ALL
the questions.
Wu Ming March 01, 2025 11:05 PM
Member since April 30, 2022
This case could become really interesting.
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Succession in the Instance of Simultaneous Death
https://www.macrobert.co.za/insights/posts/succession-instance-simultaneous-death
https://www.filmboards.com/t/Gene-Hackman/Gene%2C-his-wife-Betsy-%2B--their-dog-found-dead-at-home.-No-foul-play-suspected.-3558792/ -
DoucheBag — 1 year ago(March 14, 2025 09:24 PM)
Right on.
And I can’t believe she made it through all of that without suggesting how this shows he and his kids might be estranged?
It would explain why they were not checking on him earlier, as she brought up before.
The dummy didn’t realize that not all kids are close to their parents.
Not even celeb families. -
Lilith — 1 year ago(March 14, 2025 10:49 PM)
But how can they be heirs if they are not in either of the Wills? The only way is if they contest and win. I think the honourable thing to do is to respect the wishes of Gene and Betsy.
"Your emotional state is not my responsibility." – Warren Smith -
Tits Malone, PI — 1 year ago(March 14, 2025 11:06 PM)
I read that they were in Hackman's will where if his wife were to die, then his three children are his heirs. If they're his heirs, that means they get the inheritance.
Donna/LadyGigi Savige needs to sit her ass down! -
Lilith — 1 year ago(March 14, 2025 11:11 PM)
He specifically left his children out of his Will, though. I think if he had left them each $1.00 each, like a signatory, it would have made things more difficult to dispute. He specifically left 100% of his estate to Betsy, and Betsy left 100% of her estate to charity. This seems pretty cut and dry, but Hackman's children are trying to get access to his money despite knowing their father did not want them to have any. He may not have believed in generational wealth or simply wasn't close to his children. I know they weren't close when the children were young.
"Your emotional state is not my responsibility." – Warren Smith -
Tits Malone, PI — 1 year ago(March 14, 2025 11:13 PM)
It's apparent they weren't close.
I would think his lawyers would honor the spirit of the will. He didn't include his children in it, so that shows he didn't want to leave them anything.
Donna/LadyGigi Savige needs to sit her ass down! -
Lilith — 1 year ago(March 14, 2025 11:20 PM)
From what I gathered, they were not close when his children were young but there were some measures to get closer as his children got older. I don't know if there's any weight to that or not. There may have been some subtle attempts, but Betsy is said to have been very protective of Gene and his health (ie: not stressing him out), and one would think if his children were at all close to Gene, they would know he had dementia and would not have said he was generally in very good health and allow so much time to pass without physically checking in on them.
"Your emotional state is not my responsibility." – Warren Smith -
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Lilith — 1 year ago(March 15, 2025 10:39 PM)
I completely agree with this.
Perhaps they were trying to repair their relationship. It's not unusual for fractured families to try and rework childhood traumas and disappointments later on in life. In my experience, it doesn't really work, or if it does work, it only does so on a superficial level. Once that damage has been done, it's almost impossible to repair.
There is word that they were closer as adults than as children, and considering his children are, what, in their 60s or something, that's a long time to be harbouring ill will and discontentment. It seems quite clear that whatever the cause, Gene and Betsy had no intention of the children inheriting any of the estate. Both of their Wills are so specific. I just find it so disrespectful that they're coming out of the woodwork now after all these years to try and access their father's money that they know their father never wanted them to inherit.
"Your emotional state is not my responsibility." – Warren Smith -
Tits Malone, PI — 1 year ago(March 15, 2025 10:44 PM)
I don't believe they were trying to repair anything. If that were the case, they would've been checking up on him. It's all about getting their hands on his estate now.
But I do find it odd that all three of them weren't close to him. Usually at least one child is close to the parent.
Donna/LadyGigi Savige needs to sit her ass down! -
Lilith — 1 year ago(March 15, 2025 10:52 PM)
They were from Hackman's first marriage, right? My guess is that, like many Hollywood marriages involving actors, the parents, especially the most famous and thus the most busy and absentee parent, is away a lot of time. This leaves the spouse and the children abandoned. It's a hazard of the job. If he was pursuing his career with the majority of his attention, there was probably very little left for his family, causing familial breakdown. Neglect is a very painful form of trauma that is difficult if not impossible to heal from.
Off hand, I don't know of too many Hollywood families that have stayed married, with children, who seemed to raise healthy and independent children (that didn't become nepo babies and end up in the industry). It's a rough dynamic for any family to try and navigate through.
"Your emotional state is not my responsibility." – Warren Smith -
Tits Malone, PI — 1 year ago(March 15, 2025 11:09 PM)
I googled them and there's a headline that they are 'devastated' by his death.
He was 96 with dementia. Don't tell me they weren't expecting him to die soon. I think they're crying crocodile tears now.
Donna/LadyGigi Savige needs to sit her ass down! -
Lilith — 1 year ago(March 16, 2025 12:19 AM)
Of course they were expecting his death given his advanced age. It was just the conflicting information they released upon his death in which they stated that he was in otherwise very good health, clearly showing they were not actually in touch with their father, despite what they were putting out.
I'm still very curious if the clause in Betsy's Will with regards to what should transpire if their deaths were to occur within 90 days of each other. It's such a peculiar thing to put into a contract, especially given that Betsy was probably in her 30s when she wrote that (unless she updated it). I've never read anything like this before. I wonder what, if any, impact this may have.
"Your emotional state is not my responsibility." – Warren Smith