Anne Heche's 'insolvent' estate cannot settle debts, actor's son claims in legal docs
For the record:
3:01 p.m. April 25, 2024: An earlier version of this article quoted Homer Laffoon as referring to “predator claims” in legal documents. He actually wrote “creditor claims.”
Anne Heche's estate cannot currently settle its debts, her son claimed in new court documents.
Homer Laffoon, the late actor's 22-year-old son and the executor of the estate, said in legal documents obtained by The Times that his mother's estate is "not in a condition to be closed." The report, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, details the makeup of Heche's estate and several creditor claims, including those stemming from the August 2022 car crash that killed the actor and set fire to a Mar Vista home.
"Based on the anticipated value of the combined inventories and appraisals, and the filed creditor claims, the estate is insolvent," Laffoon, the son of Heche and ex-husband Coley Laffoon, said.
Read more: Anne Heche's estate sued for millions by woman displaced from her home by fiery crash
According to the report, Heche's estate consists of "a modest bank account," royalties from projects that preceded her death, "a corporation in which [Heche] was the sole shareholder (used for projects in development and business functions related to Decedent’s career in the entertainment industry)," "an LLC membership interest related to a podcast [Heche] helped create" and personal property. The actor's assets totaled to approximately $110,000, according to legal documents.
The report also said that sales for Heche's posthumous memoir, "Call Me Anne," released in 2023, "are not strong" and the book is projected to make less than $25,000.
Heche, who was an Emmy- and Tony–nominated actor, succumbed to her car crash injuries on Aug. 11, 2022. She was 53. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner determined that she died from smoke “inhalation and thermal injuries."
Read more: Anne Heche, TV, film and stage actor, dies at 53 from injuries in L.A. car crash
In November 2023, a Los Angeles woman living in the Mar Vista home destroyed by Heche sued the actor's estate. Lynne Mishele is one of three people who filed $2 million claims against the actor's estate. Legal documents show that Jennifer and John Durand, who own the Mar Vista home, are the other two claimants.
Heche's estate is also fielding a multithousand-dollar claim from ex-boyfriend Thomas Jane, among others.
Laffoon's report says he is working with Heche's ex-boyfriend James Tupper to sell some of his mother's property before the "the remaining items being liquidated by the estate sale company." The report added that he is also looking to negotiate "appropriate settlements" with the claims against his mother's estate.
Read more: Anne Heche didn't repay a loan before she died. Now an ex wants her estate to pay up
"[Laffoon] is cautiously optimistic that the creditor claims can all be resolved fairly and without litigation," court documents said.
A legal representative for Laffoon did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
