Details of Gene Hackman's will were revealed last week. The late actor left his entire estate to his wife, Betsy Arakawa, in a will that made no reference to his children. However, despite this, it seems likely that his three children will now inherit the £80 million estate.
Mr. Hackman's will, last updated in 2005, left everything to a single beneficiary, being his wife. Unfortunately, medical evidence now suggests that she predeceased her husband by nearly a week.
Similarly, Ms. Arakawa left a will in which she left everything to her husband. Therefore, as the actor survived his wife, even by only a few days, he inherited her estate prior to his own death.
However, since his will did not make provision for an alternative beneficiary other than his wife, the value of their joint estate will now be dealt with under the US laws of intestacy.
Consequently, it seems that the fortune will now be inherited by the late actor's next of kin, being his three children – despite the fact that the actor made no provision for them in his will.
The result would be the same if the Scottish law of intestacy were applied to the actor's estate.
What is intestacy?
Intestacy is most commonly encountered where the deceased died without leaving a will.
When an estate is intestate, it is distributed according to the law of intestacy, which determines the hierarchy of beneficiaries and the share each is entitled to receive. In Scotland, these rules are set out in the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964, which prioritises spouses, civil partners, and children.
If there is neither spouse nor children, your estate is essentially distributed to your next of kin.
However, there is no limit on the remoteness of the relationship. Even if your nearest relations are third cousins who have never met you, if you die intestate, they will inherit.
Sadly, sometimes no relation can be identified, in which case the Crown will inherit as the ultimus haeres or ultimate heir.
These rules rarely align with the deceased's wishes, and in the case of Mr. Hackman, it seems clear he did not intend his children to benefit.
Can someone die intestate despite having a will?
While intestacy largely occurs when there is no will, it can occur in other circumstances where the deceased had made a will.
Some of the more common scenarios are:
Will is invalid: This usually arises where the will is a homemade will and the deceased does not realise that the document does not comply with the legal requirements of a will.
Will with no destination over: As we have seen, Gene Hackman left a valid will, but the named beneficiary predeceased him, and the will did not specify an alternative beneficiary. Provision for an alternative beneficiary is called a "destination over."
A testator should always make provision for a substitute beneficiary or beneficiaries to prevent their estate from falling into intestacy.
Will does not deal with the whole estate: This is known as partial intestacy. The will fails to deal with the whole estate usually because the deceased has omitted to mention certain assets. The omitted assets are dealt with under intestacy.
Again, this usually arises because the deceased has drafted the will themselves.
Valid will is subsequently revoked: In this instance, the deceased made a will but subsequently revoked it without putting another will in place.
Will is lost: There is knowledge of a will, but it cannot be found.
Fortunately, even if a copy of the will can be located, it is usually possible to set the copy up as a valid will by way of a court action.
Divorce: People often forget to update their wills following a divorce. Therefore, s.1 of the Succession Scotland Act 2016 was enacted so that on divorce, any provision made for the now ex-spouse in a will is automatically revoked.
If the deceased left the residue of their estate to their spouse with no destination over, after their divorce, that residue would fall into intestacy unless the will is updated.
Importance of legal advice
When it comes to planning for the future, writing a will is a crucial step to ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes after your death.
However, even with a will in place, there are circumstances under which an individual in Scotland might still die intestate, with your estate being distributed according to the fixed rules of intestacy rather than your personal wishes.
Therefore, you should always take professional advice when drafting a will to ensure its validity and that it makes proper provision for the disposal of the whole of your estate, thus providing peace of mind that your wishes will be carried out on your death.
It is also important to regularly review your will to make sure that it still correctly reflects your wishes and current circumstances, particularly on the occurrence of any significant life event such as a birth, death, marriage, or divorce.
For more information, please get in touch with one of our wills and estate planning lawyers.
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