Heath Ledger’s Will — Interesting Issues May Arise

Australian actor Heath Ledger died on January 22, 2008 in New York City from an accidental drug overdose.  Heath was well-known for his role in the movie Brokeback Mountain and plays the role of “The Joker” in the upcoming Batman movie, The Dark Knight.

According to Jose Martinez, Heath Ledger assets go to parents, siblings, [New York] Daily News, March 8, 2008, Heath prepared a three page will in Australia in 2003 before becoming successful.  This will leaves his entire estate to his parents and siblings.  After executing this will, however, Heath’s former partner gave birth to a child, Matilda Rose Ledger.

I wonder if Matilda will be entitled to a pretermitted child’s share as computed under New York law or Australian law.

The Daily New also reported the following about Heath’s estate:

[He] had less than $145,000 in New York assets at the time of his death, including $100,000 spread across various bank accounts, a $25,000 Toyota Prius and $20,000 in furniture and fixtures. * * *

There’s also no hint of the real size of his wealth, including the fancy Brooklyn townhouse he and [Michelle] Williams shared, any property in Australia or cash stuffed in trust funds. * * *

The bulk of Ledger’s estate will be handled in Australia.

Ledger’s lawyer, Harvey Corn, has asked the judge to seal the file to protect the family’s privacy.

Special thanks to Sara Hudman and Neda Jahansouz (both J.D. Candidates, Texas Tech University School of Law) for being the first individuals to bring this development to my attention.