Gene Hackman and wife Betsy’s wills unveiled – Know who inherits their estate?

Gene Hackman’s will, along with that of his wife Betsy, has been made public more than two weeks after their passing on February 26. According to People magazine, Hackman had designated Betsy as both the personal representative of his estate and its sole beneficiary. The will, drafted in June 2005, also refers to a trust agreement established in September 1995. The document was officially submitted to the Santa Fe County court on March 6.

Who will inherit Hackman’s estate?

In the event of Betsy’s passing, Hackman had initially named attorney Michael G. Sutin as the first successor to oversee his estate. However, Sutin passed away in 2019, as confirmed by an online obituary. Following his death, Hackman designated Julia L. Peters as the second successor to manage his estate. Peters currently serves as chief counsel at Avalon Trust Co., a Santa Fe-based investment firm, and was previously a managing partner at the law firm Sutin, Thayer & Browne.

In addition to appointing Betsy as the recipient of his estate, Hackman also named her the successor trustee of his GeBe Revocable Trust, as per the 1995 agreement. Court documents accompanying the will list his three adult children—Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie, 58—from his first marriage to Faye Maltese as his heirs. According to People magazine, the court has now granted an informal appointment to Peters as the personal representative of Hackman’s estate moving forward.

Who will inherit Betsy’s estate?

Betsy’s will, filed alongside Hackman’s in 2005, outlines that the expenses related to her death, funeral and estate administration will be covered by her estate. Additionally, it specifies that she may have created a separate statement or list detailing how her personal property should be distributed.

In the event of Hackman’s passing, the remainder of her estate is to be placed in a charitable trust managed by her personal representative. She stated that the trust’s purpose would be “to achieve objectives beneficial to the community, aligned with the charitable preferences and interests expressed by my spouse and me during our lifetimes.”

Betsy had named Hackman as the personal representative of her estate, with attorney Michael G. Sutin as her first alternate and Julia L. Peters as the second alternate.