Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa only had eyes for one another.
And their mutual devotion was reflected in their estate planning as the two-time Oscar winner, who along with his wife and one of their dogs was found dead inside their home Feb. 26, listed his wife as the sole beneficiary in his will while omitting his three adult children, according to documents obtained by People.
Similarly, Arakawa’s will, also obtained by the outlet, left most of her assets to Hackman. The couple, who wed in 1991, had their wills signed on the same day in June 2005 and listed each other as the primary representative of their respective estates, according to People.
While the pair both made plans in the event that they would be survived by their spouse, each of their wills listed attorney Michael G. Sutin as first successor for personal representative of their estates, the documents reportedly show. Sutin, an attorney based in Santa Fe, died in 2019, per an online obituary.
However, in the event of his passing, both Hackman and Arakawa had appointed Julia L. Peters as his second successor for personal representation of his estate. In court documents filed alongside Hackman’s will, Peters listed the actor’s three children Christopher Allen Hackman, 65, Elizabeth Jean Hackman, 62, and Leslie Ann Hackman, 58—whom he shared with his first wife Faye Maltese—as his heirs, according to the outlet.
As for Arakawa, her will included a provision that her and Hackman’s deaths be considered simultaneous if they occurred within 90 days of one another, in which case her assets would be given to charity, according to TMZ.
Following an investigation, authorities determined Arakawa, who was 65, passed away around Feb. 11 from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said at a March 7 press conference. Hackman, who was 95 and in an "advanced state" of Alzheimer's, is believed to have died roughly one week later on Feb. 18 from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), officials said.
Keep reading for a look at Hackman’s life in photos.
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