Gene Hackman will saga takes another twist

As if figuring out how Gene Hackman and his wife died wasn't enough of a mystery, there's a new situation surrounding what's going on with his fortune.

Gene Hackman had left his entire estate to his wife, Betsy Arakawa.

Since Betsy Arakawa also died in the tragic events, it's unclear what exactly will happen to Hackman's $80,000,000 estate. Despite not being named in his will at all, it appears as though Hackman's children may have a claim to the money.

There's been more questions than answers ever since Hackman and his wife and their dog were found dead in February.

Betsy Arakawa apparently passed away on February 11 after contracting a rare virus, seven days before Gene Hackman died of natural causes.

The couple were married for more than 30 years.

Their bodies were discovered in separate rooms of their Santa Fe home on February 26 after neighborhood security conducted a welfare check and saw their bodies on the floor through a window.

Arakawa's body was found in their bathroom with pills scattered near her, and Hackman was found in the back of the house.

Hackman was wearing sweatpants and slippers with his cane and sunglasses nearby. Hackman's death was ruled to be from severe heart disease, with Alzheimer's as a contributing factor.

Their dog also died of starvation and dehydration, it was locked alone in its cage when its owners passed away.

Although Hackman's children weren't named in his will, there's a chance that they could inherit a large sum.

California attorney Tre Lovell explained that Hackmans' children could challenge the will, as long as an alternative beneficiary is not named in Hackman's trust.

"The estate will actually be probated in accordance with intestate succession laws and the children would be lawfully next in line to inherit," Lovell said.

Hackman's three children, Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie, 58, could inherit the estate under succession laws.

Awakawa's will complicated the situation even further.

She had left her assets to Hackman, with a clause saying that if they died within 90 days of each other, her estate would be placed in a trust and later donated to charity.

While charity is a good cause, I bet Hackman's children would like at least a little taste of that $80,000,000 fortune.

At the time of writing, Hackman's three children have not yet publicly commented on the situation.

Please pray for peace and healing for everyone involved. It's important to remember the tragedy that led to this will even being a discussion.