Court Favors Late Anne Heche's Son Homer Over Ex In BITTER Battle

Anne Heche's son Homer has received the upper hand in the ongoing legal battle with his mother's ex-boyfriend, James Tupper.

Since the star's passing in August, the duo has been fighting to gain control over her estate as Heche died without a will. Homer and Tupper's legal drama started in September after the court granted the former authority over his late mother's estate.

Tupper quickly protested this move, claiming in his own court documents that Heche said that he should control her assets in the event of her passing in a 2011 email. His argument was not convincing enough, as the court sided with his 20-year-old counterpart.

In legal documents obtained, it was disclosed that the court had granted "special powers" to Homer to control Heche's estate. What this means is that the 20-year-old — whom the late actress welcomed with her ex-husband Coleman Laffoon in 2002 — can now "take possession of all the personal property of the estate of the decedent and preserve it from damage, waste, and injury."

Homer is expected to have moved the property into a storage facility, taking inventory of the items within five days of the move. He was additionally given the authority to protect Heche's profits in "the publication agreement" of her upcoming book, "Call Me Anne," due for a January 2023 release.

Homer is also permitted to receive copies of the "Six Days, Seven Nights" actress' financial records and file personal tax returns on her behalf. The documents state that Homer could now "commence and maintain or defend" lawsuits and other legal proceedings.

Although Tupper requested for the estate's bond to be increased to $2 million, it remained set at $800,000, and the order would remain effective until Dec. 14, according to the docs. The filing also pointed out that the court "reviewed and considered" the papers that Tupper filed objecting to Homer getting expanded powers as the special administrator of Heche's estate. 

You would recall that the Canadian actor objected to Homer's appeal for an expansion of his authority over his late mom's estate, alleging poor treatment of his and Heche's son, Atlas. The Blast reported that the "Mercy" star accused Homer of acting in a "hostile manner" toward his half-brother and even refusing to "communicate with him or his representatives at all."

After claiming that his 13-year-old son had "no confidence in [Homer] 's ability to meet his fiduciary obligations to Atlas," the filing claimed that Homer did not inventory Heche's belongings, per his agreement with Tupper and the teenager before the items were moved into storage. The filing was done in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Earlier this month, The Blast shared that Tupper hit a legal roadblock when L.A. Superior County judge Lee Bogdanoff rejected his petition to be appointed as Atlas’‘Guardian Ad Litem.' The judge also said he would likely agree with Homer's bid to be the permanent executor of his late mother's estate.

The verdict seemed to be unsatisfactory to the "Big Little Lies" actor, who responded by shaking his head in frustration. He also had his hands in his pockets as he stood in the judge's presence – a gesture that offended Bogdanoff, who told him to remove them from their hiding place.

Although he was embarrassed by the judge's reprimand, Tupper complied and argued, "I don't think [Atlas'] older brother is going to look after his interests. He is treating him like an enemy. Their relationship is going to be destroyed forever."

After Tupper's lawyer, Christopher Johnson, complained that Homer denied Atlas access to their mother's apartment to retrieve his possessions, the judge responded that Atlas should be allowed into the flat to "get his stuff as quickly as possible." Bogdanoff then stated:

"The brothers have an equal interest in the estate – I'm not seeing a reason to grant GAL (guardian ad litem) because [Atlas] and his brother have the same interest in the estate."

The update came just a few days after Tupper filed for legal guardianship to make him responsible for defending his son's interests in court, thereby challenging the court's decision to make Homer the estate's administrator.