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‘It Better NOT Go to Them’: Gene Hackman’s Kids from First Marriage Excluded from Will as Actor’s Son Lawyers Up Ahead of Speculated Legal Battle for $80 Million Estate

By Gerry W. Beyer

Screenshot 2025-03-20 at 12.14.03 AMThe wills of the 95-year-old two-time Academy Award winner and his longtime partner revealed that his three adult kids, son Christopher and daughters Elizabeth and Leslie, were not listed as beneficiaries of his $80 million estate. Hackman shares all three offspring with his first wife, Maya Maltese, to whom he was married from 1956 to 1986.

Betsy Arakawa, 65, reportedly stipulated in her will that if she predeceased her husband the “Crimson Tide” star would inherit her earthly possessions. If they died within 90 days of each other, her possessions would be donated to a charity. The couple, who did not have a prenup, were found dead inside their $3.8 million Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on February 26.

It was later determined that Arakawa likely died on Feb. 11 of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a disease spread mainly by mice.

Hackman likely died of heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease complications, the last day his pacemaker recorded any activity on Feb. 18. One of the couple’s three dogs was also found deceased inside the residence.

Hackman reportedly had a strained relationship with his firstborn at times, even after Maltese’s passing in 2017. But it is believed that he and at least two of his offspring had been on good terms in recent years. Fans, however, are divided on whether or not the three adult children should receive a portion of the $80 million estate. 

Leslie, 58, the youngest of the three, admitted to the Daily Mail last month that she had not spoken to her father in several weeks. She said that his death was “not terribly shocking because he was 95” but that they “were close. I hadn’t talked to them for a couple months, but everything was normal, and everything was good.”

For more information see Angelina Velasquez “‘It Better NOT Go to Them’: Gene Hackman’s Kids from First Marriage Excluded from Will as Actor’s Son Lawyers Up Ahead of Speculated Legal Battle for $80 Million Estate” Atlanta Black Star, March 14, 2025. 

Special thanks to Laura Galvan (Attorney, San Antonio, Texas) for bringing this article to my attention.

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Estate Administration, Estate Planning - Generally and Wills