Gene Hackman left his entire estate to his wife — not his children: Report

Gene Hackman’s $80 million estate has been thrown into legal uncertainty after it was revealed that his three adult children were not named as direct beneficiaries in his will.

The two-time Oscar-winning actor, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa Hackman, 65, were found dead at their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on February 26.

According to documents obtained by Entertainment Weekly, Hackman had named Arakawa as the sole beneficiary and Successor Trustee of his estate. However, as she passed away several days before him, questions are now swirling over who will inherit his fortune.

Hackman shared his three children — Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie, 58 — with his first wife, Fay Maltese, whom he was married to from 1956 to 1986.

He later wed Arakawa, a pianist and furniture seller, in 1991.

Despite identifying his three children in the will, Hackman’s estate plan, established in 2005, explicitly left everything to Arakawa, stating, “I give my entire estate to Betsy Arakawa Hackman.”

New Mexico’s chief medical investigator, Dr. Heather Jarrell, confirmed on March 7 that Hackman died of heart disease with Alzheimer’s as a contributing factor, while Arakawa’s cause of death was hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — a rare illness linked to mouse droppings.

With both Hackman and Arakawa gone, recent court filings name his children as potential heirs. Whether they will formally claim their father’s estate remains to be seen.