Daughter, 2, Gets Heath Ledger's $20M Estate, But Not His $10M Life Insurance
The young daughter of Heath Ledger reportedly will be the Australian actor’s sole heir.
But, at least for now, she isn’t getting any of his $10 million life insurance, according to Entertainment Tonight. A lawsuit (PDF) filed in Los Angeles Superior Court says the life insurer has refused in bad faith to pay the claim, arguing that the actor’s death early this year may have been a suicide.
The New York City medical examiner determined that Ledger—perhaps best-known for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight, this summer’s Batman installment—had died of an accidental drug overdose, notes the Dish Rag, a Los Angeles Times blog. He was 28 years old when he died in January.
Filed in July, the lawsuit, which was first reported on by the TMZ celebrity gossip website, was removed to federal court in August, reports the Associated Press.
Matilda Rose, who is 2 years old, reportedly is not named in Ledger’s will. However, his family members have agreed to renounce their claims under his will, according to his father, and she is now expected to inherit his estimated $20 million fortune, reports the Herald Sun.
Ledger’s estate is being probated in the supreme court in Perth, Australia, the newspaper reports.
