Anne Heche’s son Homer Laffoon has been granted control over his late mother’s estate.
The 20-year-old was given control over Heche’s belongings Wednesday — marking the end of a bitter back-and-forth between him and Heche’s ex James Tupper.
The actress died on Aug. 12 death following a fiery car crash at the age of 53. Her death sparked a legal battle between Laffoon and Tupper over the estate’s ownership.
Laffoon was granted permission to “take possession of all the personal property of the estate of the decedent and preserve it from damage, waste, and injury,” according to court docs via People.
Judge Lee Bogdanoff’s ruling ultimately dismissed Tupper’s claim that Laffoon is “not suitable” to run the estate because of his age, the fact that he’s unemployed, and that he was not in contact with his mother at the time of her death.
“I find no malfeasance by Mr. Laffoon,” Judge Bogdanoff added. The judge also denied Tupper’s request for a hearing to investigate the claim that Heche’s $200,000 jewelry collection has gone missing.
Tupper’s attorney told the judge that Heche “had approximately $200,000 worth of jewelry and none remains and that was four years ago.”
After the ruling, Laffoon’s attorney Bryan Phipps told People in a statement, “We believe the court reached the correct result this morning, both legally and equitably, and are glad to have this phase of the process behind us.
“With Mr. Tupper’s allegations and objections now resolved, we are hopeful the administration of the Estate can proceed without unnecessary complication.”
In October, Tupper — who was with Heche from 2007 until 2018 — claimed that Laffoon was “hostile” to his younger half-brother Atlas Tupper, whom he shared with the late actress.
James claimed that Laffoon has “broken several promises” to his half-brother by not providing him with an “inventory list and pictures of the tangible personal property” the 20-year-old told the court is still inside Heche’s apartment.
Moreover, he alleged that Laffoon “has acted in a hostile manner towards Atlas” since probate proceedings began “and has refused to communicate with him or his representatives at all.”
He insisted his son “has no confidence in Laffoon’s ability to meet his fiduciary obligations to Atlas,” pointing out that Laffoon recently asked the court for certain powers that his title as special administrator apparently already affords him.
