The battle to take control of Anne Heche’s estate has reached a boiling point as her eldest son Homer Laffoon officially opposed his ex-lover James Tupper’s request to be made guardian of his other boy.
In documents filed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Homer claimed Tupper had “potential and actual conflicts of interest” with the young boy – his own son whom he shares with Heche, 13-year-old Atlas Heche Tupper.
And Homer, 20, slammed Tupper for saying he wanted to “preserve family harmony and a healthy sibling relationship” between Heche’s two sons.
‘M. Tupper provides no support or context for these claims,” Homer’s attorneys wrote. ‘M. Laffoon can confirm to the court that there is no disagreement between them.
Tupper, 57, asked this week to be named ‘ad litem guardian’ of his 13-year-old son. This would make him responsible for protecting Atlas’ interests in the hearings.
Homer Laffoon, pictured shortly after his mother’s accident, said James Tupper had “potential and actual conflicts of interest” with his own son, Atlas Heche Tupper, 13.
DailyMail.com has obtained court documents filed by Tupper seeking to become the legal guardian of his son Atlas Heche Tupper (left) after Heche’s eldest son Homer Laffoon, 20, (right) filed a motion for to be in charge of his mother’s estate.
Heche died of injuries sustained in a car accident with a fireball in Los Angeles on August 5
A hearing is scheduled next Tuesday on the issues.
Homer is the son of Heche’s ex-husband, cameraman Coleman Laffoon. The couple married in 2001 and divorced in 2009, by which time she had moved to Tupper.
In his petition to be appointed guardian, Tupper said he “loves both Homer and Atlas as a father and wants the best for both of them.”
But Homer said that statement only undermines his candidacy.
‘Instead of defending only the interests of the minor (Atlas), Mr. Tupper’s professed affection and wishes for the minor and Mr. Laffoon create a potential conflict of interest should the guardian ad litem ever be obliged to side with one child against the other.
Homer said he is more likely to act in Atlas’ best interests because both sons “share a common goal of administering the estate as efficiently as possible, maximizing the distributable value of the estate, and then distribute the estate to the intestate heirs (the minor and Mr. Laffoon) as soon as reasonably possible.
The battle comes just two months after Heche died of injuries sustained in a fiery car accident.
The actress, best known for her roles in Donnie Brasco, Volcano and Wag the Dog and her three-year relationship with Ellen DeGeneres, slammed her Mini Cooper into a Los Angeles home, causing an explosion on August 5.
Blood tests showed the actress had cocaine and fentanyl in her system when the high-speed crash happened, but officials confirmed she hadn’t been drinking alcohol – although was photographed shortly before with a bottle of vodka in her cup holder.
She was badly burned and in a coma.
Heche’s survival machine was turned off on August 14 and she was cremated on August 18.
A coroner ruled on August 17 that Heche died of inhalation and burn injuries, and the death was ruled an accident.
The mother-of-two also had a fractured sternum caused by “blunt force trauma”, according to information on the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s website.
Homer Laffoon objected to the appointment of James Tupper as court guardian in documents filed in Los Angeles court on Tuesday
“James Tupper is Atlas’ father and only living relative. James loves both Homer and Atlas because a father wants the best for both of them,’ the filing states. The blended family of four is pictured in 2012
Tupper revealed in his September 15 filing that he would oppose Laffoon’s request to take over Heche’s estate and instead choose his own independent administrator.
Homer was appointed as a “temporary administrator” in September to manage the publication of Heche’s next book Call Me Anne.
Tupper claims Laffoon “is not fit” to run the estate because he is too young, unemployed, and was estranged from his mother at the time of her death.
The actor goes on to accuse Homer of changing the locks on the apartment Heche shared with Atlas, allegedly preventing the younger brother from getting his belongings back.
Tupper said the two half-brothers had had no contact since the day Heche died.
Laffoon called Tupper’s claims “baseless personal attacks” and “frivolous legal claims.”
He went on to say that Tupper was manipulating him and his half-brother into taking control of their mother’s estate. Laffoon also claimed that Tupper kept him away from Atlas by controlling the 13-year-old’s phone.
Laffoon’s attorneys told TMZ they were confident the eldest son would be the victor in court after appointing him as temporary in charge of the estate.
Tupper said the two half-brothers had had no contact since the day Heche died. Tupper, Heche and their son Atlas are pictured in 2015
Tupper claims the 2011 email proves he should be in charge of the estate. “FYI, in case I die tomorrow and someone asks,” Heche’s email begins. “I wish all my assets to pass under the control of Mr. James Tupper to be used in raising my children and then given to the children”
Last month, DailyMail.com revealed an email Heche sent to Tupper in 2011 naming him executor of his estate. The email was included in Tupper’s legal case as he fights 20-year-old Homer for control of his estate.
But Homer hit back in a filing last week, saying the email is not a legally recognized will because Heche did not sign the document.
‘M. Tupper repeatedly refers to the email as a ‘will’ however – in law – the email is not considered a holographic will or a formal witnessed will,’ Laffoon’s filing states. .
‘The email was not signed by [Heche] and does not have two witnesses who signed the document during [her] lifetime.’
Laffoon says his mother left no will when she tragically died.
“Without a will there can be no appointment of executor,” Laffoon said, adding that he was “legally entitled to be appointed administrator.”
However, Tupper claims that Heche’s January 25, 2011 email makes it clear that she wanted all assets controlled by him.
Heche’s email has the subject “WILL” and is addressed to Tupper with copies to attorneys Kevin Yorn and Melodie Moore.
“I wish all my assets to pass under the control of Mr. James Tupper to be used in raising my children and then given to the children,” the email reads.
He says his estate will be divided equally between his two sons and their shares should be returned to them when they turn 25.
A photo before the August 5 accident shows Heche driving with a bottle of alcohol in the cup holder
In the event that his two sons and Tupper all passed, Heche ceded his estate to his nephew Eliot Bergman, to be divided equally among his nieces and nephews.
“May this go into my records as my word until further documents are drafted,” Heche concludes in the email.
It seems that no other document was ever filed.
In his initial court petition, Laffoon says it is unclear how much money or property Heche, 53, had in his name before his death. Laffoon lists his mother’s personal assets and annual income as “unknown.”
The court will have to dig into Heche’s finances to determine the value of her estate and the properties she owned.
In 2021, it was reported that she was selling her cabin in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles for around $2 million with her co-star and ex-partner Thomas Jane.
It was also previously reported that she owns another home in the Hancock Park-Wilshire neighborhood of Los Angeles – a mansion priced at around $4 million.
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