More than a year after the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, the couple’s graves remain without a formal headstone as a legal dispute over the actor’s estate begins to unfold.
Hackman and Arakawa were found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and were later laid to rest at Santa Fe Memorial Gardens. Their burial site currently has no traditional marker, with only a small conch shell placed near a tree identifying the location.
The quiet gravesite has drawn attention as Hackman’s three adult children have stepped into a probate case involving the late actor’s will and his estimated $90 million estate.
According to court documents cited by the Daily Mail, Hackman’s children Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie have filed legal paperwork requesting recognition as interested parties in the probate proceedings.
Hackman’s will reportedly left his entire estate to Arakawa, whom he married in 1991. The document did not include provisions for his children.
Arakawa’s own will also did not allocate assets to Hackman’s children. Instead, it reportedly included a clause stating that if both she and Hackman died within 90 days of each other, their assets would be directed to charitable causes intended to benefit the community.
The legal filings by Hackman’s children appear to signal the start of a potential dispute over how the estate will ultimately be handled.
Hackman was previously married to Faye Maltese, the mother of his three children. The couple was married for more than 30 years before divorcing in 1986. Maltese died in 2017 at the age of 88.
The reasons for Hackman’s estrangement from his children have never been publicly detailed. However, the actor spoke in past interviews about the personal challenges that came with balancing family life and a demanding acting career.
In a 1989 interview with The New York Times, Hackman reflected on how the profession often required long separations from family. He acknowledged that the pressures and temptations of the industry, including financial success and recognition, sometimes pulled him away from home for months at a time.
As the probate process moves forward, the dispute could determine how Hackman’s estate is ultimately distributed and whether his children gain a role in the legal proceedings surrounding the actor’s fortune.
