Anne Heche’s son files to control estate after actress died without will

The son of actress Anne Heche is seeking control of her estate after she died last month without a will.

Homer Heche Laffoon, 20, filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior court on Wednesday to be named the administrator of his mother’s estate, the Los Angeles Times reported. Laffoon also asked to be named the legal guardian of his 13-year-old brother, Atlas Heche Tupper, according to the newspaper. Both are named as the only heirs of Heche’s estate in court documents.

According to court documents, the value of the Emmy Award-winning actress’ estate is unknown, The Associated Press reported. That is often the case in initial filings before anyone has the legal authority to assess a dead person’s assets.

Actor Anne Heche died without a will, and her 20-year-old son has filed court papers to control her estate. https://t.co/clpxLPVxhf
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 2, 2022

Laffoon is the son of Heche and her ex-husband, Coleman “Coley” Laffoon, 48, the Times reported. The actor and the real estate broker were married from 2001 to 2009. Tupper is the son of Heche and her ex-partner, 57-year-old James Tupper. The actors dated from 2007 to 2018 after meeting on the set of the ABC series “Men in Trees,” according to the newspaper.

A hearing on Homer’s request is set for Oct. 11, according to Rolling Stone. An email to a Heche representative seeking comment was not immediately returned, the AP reported.

Anne Heche: Actress’ death ruled an accident by coroner’s office

Heche, 53, died from injuries she sustained when her vehicle crashed into a Los Angeles home on Aug. 5, according to the Times. According to KCBS-TV, a blue 2020 Mini Cooper owned by the soap opera star was traveling at a high rate of speed when it went off the road at a T intersection and slammed into a two-story Mar Vista home, setting the vehicle on fire.

Heche’s vehicle stopped inside the home and started a fire that took 59 firefighters 65 minutes to fully contain and extinguish, the Times reported. According to KTTV, Heche was alone in the car at the time of the crash and was pulled out of the car by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Anne Heche: Actress, legally dead, removed from life support for organ transplants

Heche suffered an “anoxic” brain injury. She was declared brain dead but remained on life support for several days in order to donate her organs, her family said at the time.

A person declared brain dead is considered legally dead under California law.

The Los Angeles Medical Examiner ruled Heche’s death an accident caused by “inhalation and thermal injuries” compounded by a sternal fracture suffered in her shocking crash, Rolling Stone reported.

Actress Anne Heche dies at 53 after car crash

During the 1990s, Heche played opposite actors including Johnny Depp (“Donnie Brasco”) and Harrison Ford (“Six Days, Seven Nights”).

She recently had recurring roles on the network TV series “Chicago P.D.” and “All Rise,” and in 2020 was a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars.”

Heche was also known for her roles as Vicky Hudson and Marley Love in the soap opera “Another World” and won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991, the Times reported.

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