Santa Fe (USA) - Hollywood legend Gene Hackman (†95) has won two Oscars and leaves behind a fortune of 80 million US dollars. However, his children are not mentioned in his will.

The actor's health was generally poor: Gene Hackman suffered from Alzheimer's disease and had a heart condition.

The 95-year-old, who secured his place in film history with classics such as "The French Connection", "The Bridge of Arnhem" and "Merciless", died on February 18, presumably as a result of his heart condition.

He left an inheritance of 80 million dollars, which according to his will was to go to his wife Betsy Arakawa (†63), who had died a few days earlier from a lung disease caused by hantavirus.

Gene Hackman had named his two former lawyers as his successors in the will. However, Michael G. Sutin and Julia L. Peters are also dead. This has created a legally tangled situation in which the succession is unclear.

As The New York Times reported, Gene Hackman had not mentioned his three children Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie in his will. Do they still have a claim to their father's estate?

It is not known why the Hollywood actor did not include his children in his will. According to Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie, who are from Hackman's first marriage to Fay Maltese, they had a good relationship with their father.

"We will miss him dearly and are devastated by his loss. We were close. I hadn't spoken to him for a few months, but everything was normal and fine," Leslie said in an interview.

Although the children were named as heirs in a court document, it remains uncertain whether they can actually make a legal claim to the estate .

Arakawa's will also adds to the complexity of the situation: In it, she had expressed the wish that her money should be passed on to a charitable trust that pursues charitable purposes.