Homer Laffoon, the 20-year-old son of the late actress who died after a fiery car crash, officially objects to her ex-boyfriend James Tupper's petition to be appointed guardian of her other son Atlas.
- Oct 6, 2022
AceShowbiz - The battle to gain control of Anne Heche's estate is apparently at its climax. Homer Laffoon, the son of the late actress who died after being involved in a fiery car crash, has officially objected to her ex-lover James Tupper's petition to be appointed guardian of her other son Atlas Heche Tupper.
In papers filed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 4, Homer claimed James has "potential and actual conflicts of interest" with the younger boy, his own son he shares with Anne. The oldest son of the "Hung" actress also slammed James for claiming he wanted to "preserve family harmony and a healthy, brotherly relationship" between the actress' two sons.
"Mr. Tupper gives no support or context for these claims," Homer argued through his lawyers. The 20-year-old added, "Mr. Laffoon can confirm for the court that there is no disharmony" between them.
James filed this week to be appointed "guardian ad litem" over his son Atlas. That would make the 57-year-old responsible for protecting the 13-year-old boy's interests in court hearings. A hearing is set for Tuesday, October 11 on the issues.
In his petition to be appointed guardian, James said he "loves both Homer and Atlas as a father and wants the best for them both." However, Homer said that statement only undermines his application.
"Instead of advocating solely for the interests of the minor (Atlas), Mr. Tupper's professed affection and wishes for both the minor and Mr. Laffoon creates a potential conflict of interest in the event the guardian ad litem is ever forced to side with one child against the other," Homer further argued.
Homer said that he is more likely to act in Atlas' interests as both of the sons "share the common goal of administering the estate as efficiently as possible, maximizing the distributable value of the estate and then distributing the estate to the intestate heirs (the minor and Mr. Laffoon) as soon as reasonably practical."
Homer is the son of Anne's former husband, cameraman Coleman Laffoon. Coleman and actress, who's best known for her three-year relationship with Ellen DeGeneres, married in 2001 and divorced in 2009, by which time she had moved on to James.
The nasty battle comes just two months after Anne died from her injuries sustained in a fiery car crash. Anne slammed her Mini Cooper into a house in Los Angeles, causing an explosion on August 5. She was left badly burned and in a coma.
Anne's life support machine was taken off on August 14. A coroner stated on August 17 that she died from inhalation injury and burns and her death was ruled an accident. She was cremated on August 18.
Blood tests showed that Anne had cocaine and fentanyl in her system when the high-speed crash occurred. However, medical examiner officials confirmed that she had not been drinking alcohol despite being pictured shortly before with a vodka bottle in her cup holder.
