The week-long time lag between the deaths of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa may make it simpler to wind up the star’s $80 million Hollywood fortune, lawyers told DailyMail.com.
Officials in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Friday released details of their probe into the curious deaths of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, who were discovered dead in separate rooms of their home on February 26.
Arakawa, it transpired, had died of a rare virus spread by mice on about February 11, while Hackman, an Alzheimer’s sufferer, likely died on February 18 from heart disease, officials said.
She was found in a bathroom with one of the couple’s three dogs, which was dead in its crate.
These conclusions from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator and Santa Fe Sheriff’s office answered many of the questions that were swirling after the couple’s bodies were found by a caretaker of their gated community.
They may also play a role in divvying up the couple’s property — the $3.8 million home in Santa Fe and other assets that amount to some $80 million, according to celebritynetworth.com.
This could have implications for any inheritance that Hackman’s son and two daughters from his previous marriage to Faye Maltese — Christopher, Elizabeth, and Leslie — receive. Arakawa, a pianist from Hawaii, had no children.
The timing of the couple’s deaths is important because, under New Mexico law, had they died within 120 hours of each other, their deaths would have been classified as ‘simultaneous.’
Santa Fe Sheriff Adam Mendoza said his department plans to keep Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s cases open despite their causes of death being revealed after weeks of speculation. (Pictured: The couple in 1991)
Hackman and Arakawa are pictured with Hackman’s daughters Leslie and Elizabeth at a Beverly Hills movie premiere in 1996
This may have impacted how the estates of Hackman and Arakawa were divided.
But given that investigators found Hackman lived for seven days after his wife, based on his pacemaker activity, those provisions would not apply, and his estate may be divided among his beneficiaries other than Arakawa, experts said.
‘In a lot of states, including New Mexico, there’s a kind of presumptive triggering deadline of five days before you’re considered having survived under the terms of most wills,’ Kevin Holmes of Holmes Law Firm told DailyMail.com.
Many details about Hackman and Arakawa are not known, but it is likely that given the star’s Hollywood fortune and access to lawyers that each of them wrote a will, or more likely used a tax-friendly trust, said Holmes.
Those wills or trust could lay out a timeline for simultaneous death that is different to the 120-hour period detailed in New Mexico state law, although in most cases people mirror the state statute.
Often, married couples with wills leave each other their entire estate.
But estate plans are private, which means that it’s not yet publicly known who Hackman and Arakawa have named as beneficiaries of their assets, said John Budagher, an attorney at Budagher & Tann.
There are also many other unknowns that could come into play in the coming weeks, said Budagher, Holmes and others.
Perhaps the most consequential unknown factor is who Hackman and Arakawa have named as their beneficiaries, said Budagher. Most often, people name their spouse and kids. But it’s also not uncommon to name carers, friends, and even caretakers.
‘It’s your money,’ says Budagher. ‘You’re allowed to give it to whomever you want, including a donkey sanctuary in Connecticut.’
Another important factor could be the date on which any will or legal documents were signed, he added. That’s especially true for Hackman, given his deterioration from Alzheimer’s, as any recent updates to his papers could be queried.
Gene Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth and his granddaughter Annie step out of their home on Tuesday in Los Angeles
Gene and his children during the premiere of Superman in Washington, D.C in December 1978
Specifically, the Sheriff (pictured Friday) said they are waiting to see the couple’s cell phone records, as well as the results of a necropsy that is set to be conducted on their deceased dog
Arakawa is said to have died first due to her infection, which initially presents with flu like symptoms. Hackman is believed to have died in the home (pictured) about a week later
‘If it’s more recent, that doesn’t mean it’s invalid, it just means it’s riper for a potential challenge — especially if it’s doing something like leaving everything to a caretaker,’ said Budagher.
Other unknown factors include whether Hackman and Arakawa made any pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreements, and if any children or other potential beneficiaries will make claims on the estate.
And though there is likely to be some action in the coming days, the whole process could take much longer — under New Mexico law, family members and others have up to three years of a person’s death to file a probate case.
Hackman’s two daughters, Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie, 58, and granddaughter Annie, have released a statement saying they were ‘devastated’ by his death.
‘He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us, he was always just Dad and Grandpa,’ said the statement.
Leslie told DailyMail.com that she was ‘close’ with her dad but that they had not spoken for a ‘few months’ before his passing.
While Santa Fe Sheriff Adam Mendoza says he’s confident of the timeline of what occurred at the couple’s property, he told reporters on Friday that the case remains open until they ‘close the loopholes.’
Despite each of the deaths being ruled as natural, with no signs of internal or external trauma, Mendoza has insisted authorities are not done with the investigation.
Specifically, the sheriff said officers are waiting to see the couple’s cell phone records, as well as the results of a necropsy, or autopsy, that is set to be conducted on their deceased dog.
According to a search warrant obtained by DailyMail.com detectives listed two cellphones among the items taken from their home.
Hackman and Arakawa met in a gym in California in the mid-1980s and moved to Sante Fe shortly after, before getting married in 1991. They were active in the city’s art community and culinary scene.
In recent years, they were seen less often in town as his health deteriorated. They lived a very private life before their deaths, Mendoza said.
Their 12-year-old dog Zinna was found dead along with them in the home. She is believed to have died from starvation and dehydration after being left to fend for herself in a crate after her owners died. (Pictured: Hackman and Arakawa with their old dogs in 2005)
Gene Hackman and his family at Sun Valley in 1974. Whilst the two-time Oscar winner mostly tried to keep his family life private throughout his impressive career, he did often confess just how ‘tough’ his offspring’s lives were after he missed out on their earlier years due to work
Officials said that numerous emails went unopened on February 11, and that there was no further communication from Arakawa’s account after that day. (Pictured: The couple in 1993)
Hackman (pictured in 2005) was discovered lying on the ground of a mud room just off the kitchen with his sunglasses and cane nearby, indicating he may have fallen according to officials
Hackman’s life until 2004 was lived in the Hollywood glare – he is pictured with friend and Unforgiven co-star Clint Eastwood at the 1993 Oscars
Both Hackman and Arakawa appeared to have suddenly fallen to the floor and neither showed signs of blunt force trauma.
Arakawa was found lying on her side in the bathroom, an apparent victim of the rodent-borne hantavirus, a rare disease in the US.
Most US cases are concentrated in the West. In northern New Mexico, the virus is mostly spread by droppings and urine of deer mice.
It is often transmitted through the air when people sweep out sheds or clean closets where mice have been living.
It begins with flu-like symptoms and can lead to heart and lung failure, with around 38 percent to 50 percent of cases resulting in death.
The couple’s 12-year-old Australian Kelpie mix, Zinna, was found dead inside a crate in the same room.
Arakawa had picked up Zinna in a crate on February 9 from a Santa Fe veterinarian, which may explain why the dog was found dead in the crate, Mendoza said. It may have died of starvation.
Their two other dogs, Bear and Nikita, survived and were found roaming around the couple’s Southwestern-style ranch.
Hackman was discovered lying on the ground of a mud room just off the kitchen with his sunglasses and cane nearby, indicating he may have fallen, officials said.
There was no trace of carbon monoxide in the bodies of the couple, despite many thinking they were poisoned initially.
Hackman, a former Marine known for his raspy voice, appeared in more than 80 films, as well as on television and the stage during a lengthy career that started in the early 1960s.
He earned his first Oscar nomination for his breakout role as the brother of bank robber Clyde Barrow in 1967’s ‘Bonnie and Clyde.’
He won an Oscar for best actor in 1972 for his portrayal of detective Popeye Doyle in ‘The French Connection,’ and in 1993 won an Oscar for best supporting actor for ‘Unforgiven.’
