Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, chose each other as the primary beneficiaries of their respective estates, according to details revealed in recently filed probate documents.
Hackman's will, filed in probate court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, explicitly names Arakawa as the sole recipient of his estate, entrusting her with his assets through the Gene Hackman Living Trust. Likewise, Arakawa's will stipulates that if Hackman outlived her, her estate would similarly flow into Hackman's trust.
Following their deaths—Arakawa on February 11 at age 65 from a rare case of Hantavirus, and Hackman one week later at 95 from natural causes exacerbated by Alzheimer's and heart disease—their estates transitioned into the management of a successor trustee. Julia L. Peters, a representative from a Santa Fe trust management firm, has since assumed responsibility as the personal representative for both estates, given that Arakawa and the initially appointed trustee, attorney Michael G. Sutin, had already passed.
Documents from Santa Fe's district court indicate that Peters now oversees both Hackman's and Arakawa's assets, which will eventually be distributed according to confidential trust provisions. Hackman's estate specifically references two trusts: the GeBe Revocable Trust, established in 1994, and the more recent Gene Hackman Living Trust, both of which will ultimately dictate asset distribution among unnamed beneficiaries, including Hackman's three children from his previous marriage.
Arakawa's will outlines careful provisions for her estate should Hackman predecease her, instructing that any remaining assets after debts and expenses be placed into a charitable trust to support community-oriented causes aligned with the couple's lifelong interests.
Arakawa also stipulated conditions regarding simultaneous death, clarifying that beneficiaries must survive her by at least 90 days to inherit. Additionally, Arakawa's mother was named as the sole surviving heir following her death.
These probate filings now place Peters at the center of managing the complex distribution process, ensuring Hackman and Arakawa's final wishes are fulfilled.