Halloween is around the corner, and what better time is there to go over celebrity estate plans gone wrong? So, grab your popcorn and sit back for a lesson on how some recently departed celebrities could have planned things better. Let’s tell chilling tales of recent estate planning horror stories and learn how to avoid what some might consider ghastly outcomes.
A recent estate planning horror story was big news when Eugene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were both found dead in their home back in February of 2025. What’s keeping the story in the news is that Gene Hackman’s will leaves everything to Betsy, who died before him. With his children expressly omitted, it is very unclear where the $80 million estate will go, and the courts will likely have to get involved to sort things out. The key takeaway here? Always have a backup beneficiary, just in case.
On the other hand, Anne Heche had no will at all when she passed away in 2022. She had two children, ages 20 and 13, and no spouse. The eldest child petitioned the court to be the administrator of her estate, and James Tupper, her partner and the father of her younger child, objected. He produced an email from 2011 where Anne stated she wanted James to be in charge of her estate if anything happened to her, along with some instructions for when and how the estate was to be passed on to her children. Unfortunately for James, the court decided that emailed instructions do not make a will. A will has to have two witnesses or be 100% handwritten for it to be valid in California, and neither condition was met with this email. The lesson: if you want your wishes to be upheld, you have to follow the formalities.
Chadwick Boseman didn’t have anyone fighting over his estate, but the outcome still may not have been what he wanted. More than a third of his assets went to taxes, attorneys’ fees, and court costs. The remainder was evenly split between his wife and parents, which is the standard procedure for separate property when a married person dies with no children (more on that next month). There are two lessons here: 1) If you have money, talk to a financial advisor (or estate planning lawyer) about how to limit your taxes; and 2) if you don’t like the default inheritance rules, you really need an estate plan.
And last but not least, Larry King died with a handwritten will that expressly disinherited his wife. At the time of his death, he and his wife were in the process of divorcing, but hadn’t finalized the divorce yet. Since they were still married at time of death, his widow sued to invalidate the will, and a very messy legal battle ensued, which lasted for two years. What’s the takeaway? If you want to disinherit someone, use a lawyer, make the language clear, and proactively confirm your capacity if your mental condition could be called into question.
If you’d like to know more or you’d like to talk about how to prevent your legacy from becoming your own estate planning horror story, please feel free to reach out to me at kaway@kawaylaw.com.
