Philip Seymour Hoffman Leaves Children Out of Will

Court documents obtained Monday revealed that late actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman opted to leave his three children out of his will, as he “did not want his children to be considered ‘trust...
Philip Seymour Hoffman Leaves Children Out of Will
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  • Court documents obtained Monday revealed that late actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman opted to leave his three children out of his will, as he “did not want his children to be considered ‘trust fund’ kids,” according to the Oscar winner’s accountant.

    Hoffman had amassed a $35 million fortune during his Hollywood career, and his accountant David Friedman was recently interviewed by court-appointed attorney James Cahill Jr., who was hired to represent the interests of Hoffman’s children – son Cooper, 10, and daughters Tallulah, 7, and Willa, 5.

    According to a Manhattan Surrogate Court filing on July 18, Friedman recalled conversations with Hoffman – “in the year before his demise were the topic of a trust was raised for the kids and summarily rejected by him.” Friedman revealed that Hoffman wanted his fortune to go to the mother of his children, Mimi O’Donnell. In the filing, which was put together in 2004 before Tallulah and Willa were born, Friedman stated that Hoffman believed O’Donnell “would take care of the children.”

    Hoffman and O’Donnell separated in the fall of 2013, just months before his death, after 14 years together.

    Hoffman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his work in Capote:

    Here is the trailer for A Most Wanted Man, one of the Hunger Games franchise star’s final films:

    Hoffman, who had struggled with addiction in his 20’s, appeared to have his drug problem under control around the time of his death. Though, on February 2, 2014, playwright and screenwriter David Bar Katz found Hoffman dead in his West Village apartment. Authorities said Hoffman had a syringe still in his arm, and the New York City medical examiner’s office ruled the actor’s death as accidental, caused by “acute mixed drug intoxication, including heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamine.”

    Hoffman’s will also explicitly stated that his son Cooper was to “be raised and reside in or near the borough of Manhattan [or] Chicago, Illinois, or San Francisco, California.” Hoffman explained, “The purpose of this request is so that my son will be exposed to the culture, arts and architecture that such cities offer.”

    Friedman claimed to have “observed Hoffman treating his partner/girlfriend in the same manner as if she were a spouse.” The accountant also revealed that Hoffman never married costume designer O’Donnell because he “simply did not believe in marriage,” and that the two, despite their marital status, shared “substantial” joint bank accounts.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

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