This sounds verrry complicated!
James Tupper is now clapping back at his ex Anne Heche’s oldest son, Homer Laffoon, whom she shared with Coleman Laffoon, amid his legal battle to gain control of her estate.
As we reported, the 20-year-old submitted court docs on Wednesday asking to be made special administrator of Anne’s estate, seeing as she died without a will and there are now several legal issues that need immediate attention, via The Blast. This action came after he filed paperwork to be named administrator of her estate and be named “guardian ad litem” over his 13-year-old brother, Atlas Heche Tupper, late last month, per RadarOnline.
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It’s already complicated enough to be fighting over his late mother’s assets as a young adult, but to make matters worse, in this week’s latest filing Homer called out James for reportedly trying to manipulate him and restricting his ability to communicate with Atlas. Not the news you want to hear for a family facing such tremendous grief. But there may be more to the story!
On Thursday, James clapped back at Homer’s legal filing to stop the court from making him the administrator. And he’s now blaming the so-called rift all on Homer! Oof.
According to a new legal filing obtained by ET on Friday, James asked a Los Angeles court on Thursday to appoint himself as the executor of Anne’s estate or to appoint a neutral third party private professional fiduciary. Why does he think he deserves the highly-sought after administrator position? Well, he claims Anne sent him an email about her will when they were dating back in 2011 — making her wishes VERY clear. In the court docs, James stated Anne wrote him an email on January 25, 2011, with the subject “WILL.” In the email, she wrote:
“In case I die tomorrow and anyone asks. My wishes are that all of my assets go to the control of Mr. James Tupper to be used to raise my children and then given to the children. They will be divided equally among our children, currently Homer Heche Laffoon and Atlas Heche Tupper, and their portion given to each when they are the age of 25.”
James and Anne dated for more than a decade, ending in 2018. They first met on the set of Men in Trees in 2006. While the couple was broken up at the time of the Volcano alum’s death, James still believes he has a right to object to Homer’s request as the parent of the minor estate heir.
The Big Little Lies star also has some serious cause for concern when it comes to Homer! He insisted there’s “no urgent need to appoint a special administrator at this time” and that Homer is “not suitable for appointment” due to his age. He’s also reportedly unemployed after “dropping out of university studies and not working to support himself.” In fact, James claims the son and mother were estranged at the time of her death because of his decisions! Whoa… It’s so sad to think Homer and Anne weren’t in a good place when she passed… if the actor is to be believed.
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James went on to claim Homer changed the locks on Anne’s apartment after her death, refusing to let Atlas in to collect his personal belongings. Jeez. The Requin lead also argued it was Homer who hasn’t been responding to any correspondence from his younger brother — and he was supposedly a no-show after reportedly agreeing to attend grief counseling together and meet James and Atlas at a restaurant. Hmm.
Because of the young man’s unusual behavior as of late, James doesn’t think it’s in his son’s best interest for Homer to be running the estate, saying:
“It concerns objector that in light of this behavior, Homer will not act in his brother’s best interest. Objector Tupper helped raise these boys from a very early age, and cares deeply for their well-being. It is his desire that they achieve a fair and good result from these proceedings, which is his sole purpose in filing these objections.”
Similarly, James doesn’t think it’s appropriate for the court to grant the 20-year-old’s request since he is unemployed and therefore wouldn’t be able to pay the necessary bond (unless it was made void, which Homer requested in his filing). If you didn’t know, Administrator and Executor bonds (also called Probate Bonds) are required in the state unless otherwise noted by the court. They generally guarantee that all the estate debts will be satisfied and that the remaining assets will be properly distributed to the appropriate heirs. The 57-year-old added:
“The administrator role requires someone with more experience and sophistication, as the estate assets require management and collection by someone with the required expertise. Homer’s lack of assets and income also means he will be unable to obtain a bond, and in fact his petition asks that no bond be posted, which is unacceptable to Objector.”
What does the court think about all this?? They’ve already sided with Homer! According to the boy’s lawyer, Bryan Phipps to TMZ on Thursday evening, it sounds like Anne’s oldest has already been made special administrator. He shared:
“The court appointing Homer special administrator today supports that decision.”
Wow! Homer also shared a comment about James’ filing, this time taking the high road, saying:
“We prefer to see the estate administration play out in court and not in the media, as our legal documents speak for themselves.”
This is really getting messy! A hearing has been scheduled for October 11. Reactions??
[Image via MEGA/WENN & Anne Heche/James Tupper/Instagram]
