Anne Heche's Son Claims Ex Has 'Conflicts of Interest' in Court Battle over 13-Year-Old's Guardianship

Mar. 15, 2025

Anne Heche’ssonHomer Laffoonand her exJames Tuppercontinue to battle in court over the legal guardianship of Laffoon’s younger brother,Atlas Heche Tupper.

Laffoon, 20, filed his opposition against on Tuesday claiming Tupper — who is Atlas’s biological father — has “conflicts of interest” in becoming the 13-year-old’s legal guardian and that his appointment in this circumstance “would actually harm the interests of [Atlas].”

Noting that Tupper has acted as a father figure for both Laffoon and Atlas, Laffoon claims that relationship could pose problems if he’s “ever forced to side with one child against the other.”

Anne Heche Homer Laffoon James Tupper.getty (2); Anne Heche/Instagram

“Dependent upon Mr. Tupper’s intentions and actions regarding these funds,” the document continues, “it may be necessary for the Estate to institute legal proceedings against Mr. Tupper for the ultimate benefit of [Atlas]. As such, Mr. Tupper has an actual conflict of interest with [Atlas] regarding these funds.”

Anne Heche and homer Laffoon.Rachel Murray/Getty

The filing, which PEOPLE has obtained, claims “ATLUS [sic] prefers a bonded, neutral, private, professional fiduciary be selected to administer the subject estate. As a minor, ATLAS has no ability to hire legal representation to represent his interests in these proceedings.”

The document notes that Tupper, 57, “is ATLAS' father and only living parent. JAMES loves both HOMER and ATLAS as a father and wants the best for them both.”

It continues, “In order to preserve family harmony and a healthy, brotherly relationship between ATLAS and HOMER, and given the complexity this estate will foreseeably involve – i.e. intellectual property and publishing issues, possibly third party claims, and public relations issues – a bonded, neutral, private professional fiduciary would be a more appropriate administrator.”

Anne Heche.Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage

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Heche died after beinginvolved in a fiery car accidentin Los Angeles on Aug. 5. After being in a coma, the state of Californiadeclared Heche legally deadon Aug. 12. She was temporarily kept on life support in order to donate her organs. On Aug. 14, her rep confirmed to PEOPLE she had beentaken off of life support.

At the time of Heche’s death, itdid not appear the actress had written a will. However, Tupper has since surfaced an email Heche sent to him and two attorneys in 2011. The email requested that her estate to go to Tupper and assets be divided between her two children when they turned 25.

Laffoon hasfiled against the will’s legitimacyon the ground that it does not have an authentic signature and was not signed with two witnesses present.

source: people.com