A California judge has denied James Tupper’s petition to be named his son’s guardian ad litem.
According to documents obtained by Page Six, the court found that not enough evidence had been provided by Tupper — who shares Atlas with Anne Heche — to stop Homer Laffoon from becoming his half-brother’s legal guardian.
Following the ruling, Laffoon’s lawyer, Bryan L. Phipps, told Page Six in a written statement, “We are pleased — but not surprised— with the court’s ruling this morning denying James’ petition to appoint himself guardian ad litem for Atlas. We look forward to the court resolving Homer’s petition at the next hearing and, in the meantime, Homer will continue to diligently administer the Estate pursuant to his authority as Special Administrator.”
The next court hearing will take place on Nov. 30, 2022.
On Aug. 31, Homer — Heche’s oldest son with Coleman Laffoon — filed a petition to be named executor of his mother’s estate, claiming that he is “the person with the highest priority of appointment” and is “legally entitled to appointment as administrator.”
The 20-year-old requested that he and his brother be listed as their late actress’ sole heirs before asking the court to name him as Atlas’ guardian.
Immediately after, Tupper tried to stop Homer, claiming that “as a minor, Atlas has no ability to hire legal representation to represent his interests in these proceedings.”
He also added that he is Atlas’ sole living parent, they live together and he loves his son “very much.”
Tupper continued in his petition, “In order to preserve family harmony and a healthy, brotherly relationship between Atlas and Homer, and given the complexity this estate will foreseeably involve … a bonded, neutral, private professional fiduciary would be a more appropriate administrator.”
On top of asking the court to name him as his son’s legal guardian, Tupper also claimed he was the executor of Heche’s estate, according to an email she had sent him back in 2011.
“My wishes are that all of my assets go to the control of Mr. James Tupper to be used to raise my children and then given to the children,” he claimed she wrote in the alleged will.
However, Homer fired back and claimed the alleged will wasn’t valid because it “was not signed by [Heche] and does not have two witnesses who signed the document during [her] lifetime.”
The “Six Days Seven Nights” actress died on Aug. 12 after an Aug. 5 car crash that left her in a coma. She was 53.
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