Doubt she has much. However the kids must be elated! |
This is why if someone has even a tiny bit of love for their kids they don’t get remarried or at least they have a will/trust to protect their kids |
My dad left my brother and I money in a life insurance policy when he died. Not much but it was something. My stepmother is in her late 70s and in good health. She hadn’t offered us any money so I’m wondering if she has other plans for it. She has no kids. |
I’m wondering if she even took Gene to doctors that often. Someone on the outside should have been monitoring his health. It doesn’t seem like he was getting the health care he needed. None of those pills found dealt with his heart disease. He only had a pacemaker. I could go on.
I hope this was not deliberate, but feel that she could have done far more for him. I think if doctors knew about the advanced dementia ( she probably hid it), then they would have been adamant about getting home resources for him, or suggest a memory care facility for him. It’s a tough thing to do, but we went both routes with my parents. Having care at home gave us more time with one parent, and saved a little cost, though home care is not cheap. Memory care facilities are expensive, but help you gain your life back. |
Here is a run-down on their deaths I think fills in some of the holes. Incidentally, one of their German Shepherds tried very hard to get the attention of first responders as they were going through the house. At first they didn't realize the dog was trying to get them to follow him, but once they realized it and followed him, the dog led them to Hackman's body.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2025/03/09/gene-hackman-betsy-arakawa-final-hours-hantavirus/82058693007/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us |
Marriages like what? Two people who didn't know each other during the first marriage, who stayed together through 30 years, and the wife was beyond devoted to his care? You hate marriages like that? If she survived, she wouldn't deserve his estate? Get off the crack pipe. |
That’s not true. Diltiazem is a calcium channel blocker. It’s used alone or together with other medicines to treat angina or hypertension, Easing the workload of the heart. It’s not uncommon for 95 year olds, whether with Alz or not, to be selective in what they treat. All reports are that Betsy was a diligent caretaker. This was a bizarre occurrence. Sure, we can all learn that it’s a good idea for a solo caretaker of any age to have frequent checks, but that doesn’t mean that Betsy was negligent. |
PP who called Arakawa negligent and I stand by this statement. She sounds like a control freak nightmare. I’m certain she didn’t share Gene’s diagnosis with his adult children (clearly the one DD who claimed her dad was in great health and did yoga was happy to buy into the delusion) and maybe being in denial herself, just went ahead and lived her life to include prioritizing her dogs’ care, health and well-being g above her own husband’s. |
Maybe… but he was 95 so either had great genes or someone looking out for him. Total anecdote and I am biased but… DH and I joke that my stepmother (20 years younger than my ailing elderly father) is doing the bare minimum with his care because she’s ready for him to kick it so she can live her life free as a bird, with a healthy inheritance. I’ve tried to set up care for him many times but she refuses. |
My grandmother died at 101 and had full-blown dementia for the last decade of her life. She had no serious medical concerns, was ambulatory, toileted independently, and would calmly sit and watch tv for most of the day. She needed to be kept safely indoors and directed to meals, but that was pretty much it. Accounts suggest Gene was quite healthy and may have only needed minimal support and direction, meals prepared, and so on. Seems that his wife was handling everything just fine until she fell ill quite suddenly. Surely she supposed it was the flu and she'd recover sooner rather than later, was able to run errands the day she died. Deeming her negligent is uncalled-for. |
The pills they found were for her, not him. |
PP and no, no physician would ever recommend that a patient with advanced dementia EVER be left alone! Negligent! |
Oh please. She knew him better than anyone, and he seemed to be just fine until she dropped dead. He made it to 95, with his dignity and privacy intact until that terrible last week. Her only mistake was not arranging regular check-ins. But how could she possibly have known she would die suddenly at age 63? That was utterly unforseeable. |
So it seems that Gene last made a will in 2005 and at that time, he left everything to his wife with his estate to be managed by a trust.
Betty's will leaves (almost) everything to Gene and in the event that she outlives him, then she leaves everything to a trust to be distributed to charity. She also designated specific people to receive art pieces and jewelry His estate is apparently is in the ballpark of 80 million. Betty dying almost a week before Gene will be a big factor in this. |
It would be pretty hateful for her not to leave it to you. |