Anne Heche's death is continuing to cause quite the family feud.
Following her death, Anne's 20-year-old son, Homer Laffoon, filed a petition to be named executor of her estate, and he asked that he and his half-brother, Atlas Tupper, be their mother's sole heirs.
Shortly after, Anne's ex-boyfriend, fellow "Men In Trees" actor James Tupper, submitted an email that the actress supposedly sent him in 2011, an email wherein Anne asked him to run her estate.
"FYI in case I die tomorrow and anyone asks. My wishes are that all of my assets go to the control of Mr. James Tupper to be used to raise my children and then given to the children," she supposedly wrote.
Homer is now fighting against that email, saying it wasn't a legal document and should be illegitimate, Page Six reports. In fact, he says Anne commonly sent messages like this.
In his court filing, Homer acknowledges that the email is real, but said it "fails to satisfy the legal requirements for a valid formal witnessed will" because it "was not signed by [Heche] and does not have two witnesses who signed the document during [her] lifetime."
He added, "Mr. Tupper repeatedly refers to the email … as a 'will.' However — as a matter of law — the email does not qualify as either a holographic will or formal witnessed will."
Anne and James dated for 10 years and share 13-year-old Atlas, but the duo had not been together in the four years leading up to her death.
"This document, which fails to qualify as a will on the same basis as the email … makes no reference whatsoever to Mr. Tupper, which is not surprising given their acrimonious breakup in 2018," Homer argues.
Homer said Anne even sent a similar email to a bookkeeper after contacting COVID-19 in 2020.
In his argument to be executor, James said Homer is unemployed and too young to be given the responsibility of managing his mother's funds. He also said Homer and Anne were estranged, and insisted that the 20-year-old has had no contact with his half-brother since Anne's death. James further alleged that Homer changed the locks on the home Anne and Atlas shared, preventing the teen from gaining access to his belongings inside.
Homer's augments are "unfounded personal attacks" and "frivolous legal claims," James said.