What happened
Heath Ledger?'s father said the actor?'s 2-year-old daughter, Matilda, and her mother, actress Michelle Williams, would be provided for even though Ledger left his fortune to his parents and sisters. Ledger's uncles Mike and Haydn have accused Heath's father Kim of mismanaging their grandfather's estate to the tune of $2.5 million, and warned Williams that she would have to fight for her daughter'?s inheritance. (FOX News)
What the commentators said
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The tragedy of Ledger'?s untimely death is being turned into a very public and very ?ugly family? feud, said Nick Squires and Tom Chivers in the London Telegraph. The uncles disclosed that Ledger had written his will before Matilda was born and never updated it. Kim Ledger tried to put a stop to the gossip by saying, ?Matilda is our absolute priority,? but the ?family's dirty laundry? was already on view.
The will was written before Ledger met Williams in 2005 during the filming of Brokeback Mountain, said Julie Jordan in People.com. It was his Oscar-nominated portrayal of a gay cowboy in that film that made him a huge star. ?A series of documents filed in Manhattan Surrogate's Court revealed that the actor had less than $145,000 in New York assets at the time, including a $25,000 Toyota Prius and $20,000 in furniture and fixtures.? Now his estate is worth millions. Ledger's representative ?quickly squashed any speculation that Williams and 2-year-old Matilda would not be provided for.?
Raising a child on Williams'? acting salary alone wouldn?'t exactly result in ?starvation,? said Stuart Heritage in Hecklerspray, but Ledger?'s death is still ?a lesson for us all that we should all get our affairs in order? now.
