Anne Heche's son Homer Laffoon, 20, gets control of her estate after legal battle with her ex James Tupper
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Despite James Tupper, 57, Anne Heche's former partner asserting that $200,000 worth of her jewels have "gone missing," a judge on Wednesday granted the possession of the late actress' estate to her son Homer Heche Laffoon, 20. Judge Lee Bogdanoff of the Los Angeles Superior Court denied the request of Tupper, the father of Heche's Atlas, 13, to appoint an impartial administrator and instead named Laffoon, 20, as the estate's permanent administrator.
The judge also overruled Canadian-born Tupper's complaint, which claimed that Laffoon is "not suitable" to manage the estate since he is too young, unemployed, and was separated from his mother at the time of her death. Judge Bogdanoff stated, "I find no malfeasance by Mr Laffoon." He also turned down Tupper's attorney Christopher Johnson's request for an evidentiary hearing to look into his client's claim that Heche's $200,000 worth of jewels had vanished, according to the Daily Mail.
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Tupper's attorney Johnson had stated to the judge that Heche had "approximately $200,000 worth of jewelry and none remains and that was four years ago." Between 2007 and 2018, Tupper worked for Heche. Johnson responded, "Not fraud or embezzlement, mismanagement," when Judge Bogdanoff questioned him about whether he was implying that Laffoon had taken the jewelry or whether "fraud or embezzlement" had taken place. Johnson claimed that Laffoon had failed to obtain his mother's condo quickly enough after she passed away three months earlier. Johnson's request for an evidentiary hearing was denied by the judge after stating that his accusation "does not make sense."
Tupper estimates the value of his former partner's estate at $1.6 million, which includes the $200,000 jewelry collection. Laffoon disputed that amount, estimating that his mother's assets and possessions are only worth a quarter of that, or $400,000. The two have battled fiercely over Tupper's assertion that Heche named him administrator of her estate in a "will" she mailed to him in 2011. This is another issue in their dispute over inheritance, as per Daily Mail.
Heche sent Tupper an email with the subject line "WILL" that also includes copies for Kevin Yorn and Melodie Moore, her two legal representatives. The email reads, "My wishes are that all of my assets go to the control of Mr James Tupper to be used to raise my children and then given to the children." It states that her two sons will receive an equal share of her assets and that they should be distributed to them when they turn 25. Heche concluded the mail by saying, "May this go into my records as my word until further papers are drawn up."
Homer retaliated, arguing that since Heche did not sign the email, it cannot be considered a valid will in a filing. Judge Bogdanoff on Wednesday set a new hearing for March 15 to determine the bond amount Laffoon must post to defend the claims of creditors and estate heirs. He put the bond at $800,000 in the interim.