Health Ledger's Daughter Matilda To Inherit His Estate Eventually

By Chris Georg
22:01, September 29th 2008
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Health Ledger's Daughter Matilda To Inherit His Estate Eventually

It's been long enough since Heath Ledger passed away and his fortune is nearly settled, with the entire thing going to his two-year-old daughter Matilda.

Even though at the time of his death, Heath Ledger's will named his parents and sisters as the beneficiaries, the actor's father, Kim, said the family decided that all the money should go to Matilda, the actor's daughter with ex-girlfriend Michelle Williams.

The Ledger family says Michelle Williams never had to make a claim on Heath’s will because they have "gifted" every penny to Matilda, Perth, Australia's Sunday Times reported.

"There was never any question about the fact that Heath's estate would go to Matilda -- never a question. We are very close to Michelle and Matilda," he said. Moreover, he and his wife, Ines, recently returned from a two-week visit with their granddaughter in New York City.

"It was lovely," he told People magazine. "There is no animosity [with Michelle] ... We are all just one family."

The will was made before Ledger and Williams had Matilda, and the actor didn't manage to modify it before he died of an accidental prescription pill overdose on January 22.

Two months after Ledger's death, Kim issued a statement saying Matilda was an "an absolute priority" while her mother was "an integral part of our family," and both of them will be well taken care of, just like "Heath would want it to be."

However, Williams’ father, who is a well-known stock market trader, challenged the Ledger family to publicly state the value of their son's fortune because some financial details failed to make sense. Despite the millions of dollars in property in Ledger’s trusts, his will lists assets and cash of just $145,000, with no mention of mansions or millions

Although various reports have valued Heath's assets at $16-20 million, accountant Mark Dyson, executor of the "Dark Knight" star's estate, refused to disclose the amount of money that will go to Matilda.

The little girl was already donated the money earned by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law, who replaced Ledger in his upcoming film "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," which was in the making at the time of his unexpected death.

The trio made the gesture because they felt that Matilda might be facing financial problems and because the will did not protect her rights in any way.

While the whole inheritance trouble is almost settled, the life insurance company that underwrote Ledger's $10 million policy is not moving so quickly. Though Ledger’s death was ruled accidental, ReliaStar Life Insurance Company is saying that his death could have been a suicide- in which case, the policy is null and void. Instead of paying up, the company decided to start investigating whether the actor took his own life, prompting lawyers acting on behalf of Matilda to sue the company.



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