Celebrity Estate Lessons – Dennis Hopper

Dennis Hopper was in the midst of a contentious divorce when he died in 2009. Starting at the very beginning, Dennis Hopper and his wife Victoria Duffy had a prenup. This states that she was entitled to receive 25% of his estate, which includes a $250,000 life insurance payout and part of his art collection, which is where the divorce crosses paths with the probate. Hopper claimed that Duffy stole a large portion of this collection, skipped town, and refused to return it.

Here's where the tricky part comes in: the prenup states it’s only valid if Hopper and Duffy were married and living together. Hopper’s kids argue that, while Duffy was living on his property, it is in a separate house and therefore the two weren’t living together. On top of this, a court ruled that Duffy must be allowed to stay on the property, so it could be argued that if this weren’t the case, they would be living at completely different locations.

Once the divorce proceedings started, Hopper updated his estate plan to remove Duffy. Duffy claimed Hopper’s adult children used undue influence to instigate the divorce and get him to write her and their child, Galen, out of his Will. He also changed the beneficiaries listed on his life insurance. In fact, there was a hearing on the life insurance a mere two weeks before Hopper passed from prostate cancer. At the time, Duffy insisted he was well enough to be deposed. Instead of giving Duffy the whole million-dollar policy, the judge ruled she would get the $250,000 in the prenup and the rest would go to the estate.

The rest of the estate was split between his four children, with Galen receiving approximately 40% and the adult kids splitting the remaining 60%. The discrepancy is likely due to the fact that Hopper had assisted his adult kids over the years, paying for schooling and general support, plus, as adults, they have their own careers. As a seven year old at the time of Hopper’s death, Galen is unable to provide for herself and still has a lot of schooling ahead of her. In addition to these payouts, small cash gifts may be given to friends and long-time employees.

Hopper initiated divorce proceedings a mere 5 months prior to his death. He was smart enough to also immediately update his estate plan, which allowed him to have control over what happened with his estate. It’s very important to update your plan immediately after a major life change and our law firm can help you out! Give us a call today.