Even the famous leave behind a mess for their families. This week, let’s review the current status of Anne Heche’s estate. It’s an example of what not to do …
The Backstory
August 5 2022, Heche accidentally drove her car into a Los Angeles residence. The collision resulted in a fire with Ms. Heche hospitalized. The accident resulted in significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that required surgical intervention for Ms. Heche.
She was in a coma. On August 12th, the state of California declared Ms. Heche legally dead. She was kept on life support until August 14th, so her organs could be donated.
One month later, Heche’s family made headlines due to a messy battle over her estate. The former soap star first expanded her family in 2002 when she gave birth to son Homer whom she shared with then-husband Coleman Laffoon.
Seven years later, the Return to Paradise star welcomed son Atlas with then-partner James Tupper. She died without a will.
Her 20 year old son, Homer filed for control of his mother’s estate and requested to be appointed as “guardian” of his 13 year old half brother’s (Atlas) portion of the estate. Atlas’ dad, James Tupper objected to this, telling the court he had a 2011 email from Ms. Heche appointing him to oversee her estate.
In November, 2022, the estate received a new lawsuit for $2 Million dollars from the family who’s house was impacted by the accident. As of last week, the court has granted Homer control of his mom’s estate. This is a mess!
What We Can Learn From This
Life can be messy! Take into consideration all the variables in your life as you consider your plans.
Notice how the court stepped in to decide when the family members couldn’t agree on their own. It’s up to you to make your wishes known formally in legal documents your state recognizes.
When you don’t do this, the court decides for you. You decide to hand this over to the courts in the state you reside.
Beyond the court, this is messy for the family members. They’re grieving the sudden loss of Ms. Heche, and these kids (20 and 13) who live in separate homes (i.e. blended family) are embroiled in a legal fight. A fight for custody, a fight for money, a fight for personal belongings.
Consider the impact to those you love if/when something happens to you. If you could map out your wishes, what do you need to do? How can you do this to make it easier for everyone to understand what it is you really want?
Over to You
Your life may not have the complexity of Ms. Heche’s life, yet you have variables that come into play for you and your loved ones. As this year draws to a close, take a minute and ask yourself if everything important to you has been considered, “in case”?
Reach out to explore if now is a good time to review what you’ve got in place and what’s missing. Planning for you, your loved ones and your work/business evolves – let’s make sure you’re up to date.
Send me a note at: Lynn@thelivingplanner.com or call/text my office +1951.400.5966 to reach me. My main website is: https://thelivingplanner.com Check out my online courses/resources to assist people, pets and businesses here: https://courses.thelivingplanner.com
Enjoy this quote by ~ Richard Wagner to kickstart the month. “Joy is not in things; it is in us.” To the week ahead 🙂 Lynn
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