Heath Ledger shook the world in 2008 when he died at the tender age of just 28 years old.
The legendary Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight star was found unconscious in bed by his housekeeper, and though CPR was administered, the actor sadly could not be revived.
According to the autopsy performed after his death, Heath died of an accidental drug overdose – though it is still not known how he obtained the various substances that eventually killed him.
Ledger was estimated to be worth more than $16million at the time of his death – which amount to more than £12million in pounds.
But who inherited his estate after his tragic death?
Tragic news
(Image: Reuters)
Heath’s father Kim Ledger said he found out about his son’s death via a media report – and was understandably heartbroken.
Speaking on Nova’s Addicted podcast, he explained: “We kinda felt like we were the last to know.
“We literally turned on the television on [and] the first thing I saw was them carting the stretcher out. That’s the vision that will always stay with me. I couldn’t believe it.”
He was also hurt by the amount of “innuendo” and “all sorts of crazy stories” in the press at the time of his death.
Multimillion inheritance for daughter
(Image: PA)
Ledger’s will was probated at the Australian Supreme Court in Perth – and originally, he left everything to his parents and three sisters: Kate, Ashleigh and Olivia.
However, the will had been signed off by Heath two years before his young daughter Matilda was born, so the family subsequently decided to gift everything to the youngster.
It wasn’t so straightforward at first, as reports emerged at the time that Ledger’s former fiancée Michelle Williams would lodge a claim on behalf of the couple’s daughter – but it was instead settled without a legal battle.
Heath’s father Kim confirmed at the time: “There is no claim. Our family has gifted everything to Matilda.”
(Image: Getty Images)
He added: “Matilda is our absolute priority and Michelle is an integral part of our family.”
Now aged 16, Matilda is the spitting image of her dad, and became a big sister in 2021 after Michelle welcomed a second child with husband Thomas Kail.
Matilda’s grandad Kim told Channel Ten show The Project: “She’s got an enormous number of his mannerisms. She’s very inquisitive, she’s got his energy, ‘cause Heath never slept when he was two and Matilda’s like that.”
He added at the time: “Michelle’s been brilliant. She’s kept Heath very much alive in her daughter’s eyes. She’s always full of questions, always wanting to know this or that about her dad.”
Family row
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Though Kim was put in charge of handling Heath’s estate, his brothers Mike and Hadyn weren’t entirely pleased with how he handled things.
Heath’s uncle Haydn told press after his death that he was concerned for Matilda and how the funds would be distributed – as Kim had a bad track record of managing estates.
Both Kim’s brothers claimed he did such a bad job of handling their father, Sir Frank Ledger’s, estate that he was removed as executor when Frank passed away in the 90s.
Mike told People magazine at the time: “It plunged into enormous debt”.
Frank was reportedly well off for years after selling his private company J&E Ledger back in 1970, with his house auctioning for just short of £1million.
Two of Frank’s daughters alleged that Kim “placed his own interests before that of the trust, and used the trust assets in order to advance his own business interests”.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
