Keystone Law Firm - November 2023

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Highlights from Our 2023 Intentional Living Summits How a British Admiral Thwarted Napoleon’s Naval Ambitions The Right Way to Protect Your Children’s Inheritance

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Stuffed Pepper Soup

How to Leash-Train Your Dog for Stress-Free Strolls

4 Estate Planning Lessons From Anne Heche’s Untimely Death When Fame Meets Inheritance: Anne Heche’s Legacy

and then given to the children.” Heche sent the email in 2011 when the couple was still together. Unfortunately, the email was not legally binding, and a judge gave complete control of Heche’s estate to her son, Homer. The estate consisted of $110,000 in bank funds and uncashed checks as well as an estimated $400,000 in other assets. However, people continued to target Heche’s estate with massive lawsuits. In November 2022, the woman renting the home that Heche crashed into sued the estate for at least $2 million, then the homeowners filed their own lawsuit. A month later, a credit card company sued the estate for $36,000 in credit card debt. Like many other celebrity estate planning cases that make the news, this entire situation could have been avoided if Heche had created an estate plan.

car — or Heche — for over 45 minutes. Following the accident, Heche fell into a coma and passed away seven days later due to inhalation and thermal injuries as well as a sternum fracture. Unfortunately for Heche’s family, she passed without a will in place, which complicated matters significantly. Heche’s eldest son, Homer Heche Laffoon, filed a petition to be appointed administrator of her estate not long after her death. James Tupper, Heche’s ex-partner and father to her second child, argued that he could reject the petition as he believed Homer was not suitable due to his age and lack of income. Furthermore, Tupper provided an email written by Heche that left the estate in his hands. It read, “FYI 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

News of Anne Heche’s death stunned the entertainment world in August 2022. The 53-year-old actress who starred in “Donnie Brasco’’ and “Six Days Seven Nights’’ was driving her MINI Clubman when she crashed into a Los Angeles home. A fire broke out from the accident, and firefighters were unable to remove the

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