Anne Heche’s death in a car accident in August shocked fans, friends, and family members. It also sparked a protracted legal battle over the actor’s estate between her ex-boyfriend James Tupper and her son Homer Laffoon, who now claims Tupper’s will was forged.
People reported that Laffoon, 20, filed documents to take control of his mother’s estate in early September because Heche did not leave a will. On Tuesday, he added nine pages to that petition and accused Tupper of rampant interference, according to People, citing court documents obtained by the publication.
According to People, Laffoon’s filing on Tuesday claims that Tupper tried to prevent him from contacting his 13-year-old half-brother, Atlas Heche Tupper, in the aftermath of their mother’s death and that a 2011 document allegedly granting Tupper control of Heche’s estate wasn’t authentic and didn’t bear her signature.
According to the filing, “Mr. Tupper repeatedly refers to the email attached to the Objection as a Will.'” “However, the email does not qualify as either a holographic will or a formal witnessed will under the law.”
According to the filing, “the email fails to satisfy the legal requirements for a valid holographic will because the material provisions of the purported will are not in the Decedent’s handwriting.”
According to Laffoon’s filing, the two witnesses required by law to witness the signing of a will were not present in 2011. According to the filing, there can be no nomination or appointment of an executor to take control of Heche’s estate without a will.
For weeks, Laffoon and Tupper have been fighting over Heche’s assets. Tupper not only claimed that Laffoon was “estranged” from his mother at the time of her death, but also filed several objections to his “suitability” as estate holder, which Laffoon dismissed as “inaccurate and unfounded.”
On August 5, Heche crashed into a residential home in Los Angeles and went into a coma after suffering severe injuries. On August 12, she was declared legally dead, but she remained on life support while her organs were removed for donation. On August 14, she was removed from life support.
