This is a unique situation for sure, because the entire Gene Hackman death situation has been one of the strangest in recent memory. Even though the details of Gene Hackman's will have been released, it's still unclear who's going to get to claim his $80,000,000 fortune.

That's because the two-time Academy Award winner left his entire estate to his wife, Betsy Arakawa, MSN reports. Unfortunately, Betsy Arawaka was also found dead in the couple's New Mexico home in February.

Even though Gene Hackman's three children were totally absent from his will, they may still have a claim to his estate under state laws.

A legal mess

Practically everything about the way Gene Hackman and his wife and dog died has been surrounded in mystery, so it's only fitting that the situation around his will is murky as well.

A legal expert reports that Hackman's children "would need to prove that the will is invalid because Arakawa died a week before Hackman."

At the time of writing, Hackman's children have not publicly commented on the will.

Legal documents show that since 1995, Arakawa has been the sole beneficiary of Hackman's estate. The last update to the will happened in 2025.

Arakawa passed away on February 11 after contracting a rare virus, seven days before Gene Hackman died of natural causes.

Her "will left her assets to Hackman, with a provision that if they died within 90 days of each other, her estate would go to a trust and later be donated to charity after covering medical expenses," MSN reports.

California attorney Tre Lovell explained that Hackman's children could challenge the will, as long as an alternative beneficiary is not named in Hackman's trust.

"The estate will actually be probated in accordance with intestate succession laws and the children would be lawfully next in line to inherit," Lovell explained.

A sad situation

While much of the focus has turned toward what to happen to Hackman's estate, it's important to remember that we're talking about a husband and wife and their dog who lost their life under tragic circumstances.

The couple, who were married for more than 30 years, were found dead in separate rooms of their Santa Fe home on February 26 after neighborhood security conducted a welfare check and saw their bodies on the floor through a window.

Arakawa was found in the bathroom with pills scattered nearby, while Hackman was found in the back of the house. Hackman was wearing sweatpants and slippers, his cane and sunglasses were found behind him.

Authorities concluded that Hackman died seven days after his wife because of severe heart disease, with Alzheimer's as a contributing factor.