When Heath Ledger died earlier this year from an accidental overdose, his will left everything to this parents and three sisters. It was written, of course, before the birth of his daughter Matilda with Michelle Williams. Many believed Michelle would file a claim for the estate, but Heath’s family has given the entire thing over to Matilda.

“There is no claim,” the newspaper quoted Kim Ledger as saying in a report published Sunday. “Our family has gifted everything to Matilda.”
The actor signed the will on April 12, 2003. It lists assets and cash of just $118,000, but the actor’s estate is believed to be worth more than $16.3 million.

Heath Ledger’s life insurance company is ruling his death a suicide to avoid paying $10 million to a trustee for his daughter who has filed a lawsuit:

Sources say lawyers for the insurance company have claimed Ledger’s death was “suspicious” — possibly suicide, which would nullify the policy. The company alleges in its answer to the lawsuit, “ReliaStar is entitled to investigate Plaintiff’s claim to determine if the ‘Suicide’ provision is applicable.” That provision states, “If the Insured commits suicide … we will pay only the amount of premiums paid to us.”
ReliaStar’s lawyers have informed Matilda’s lawyers they intend to take the depositions of Mary-Kate Olsen, as well as the masseuse who was at Ledger’s home when he died, Ledger’s colleagues on his last film, his agents, doctors, psychologists and others. Lawyers for Matilda believe the insurance company is trying to scare and shame them into submission. They believe ReliaStar is trying to drag the process out, for what could be years, to avoid paying the money.

Matilda’s lawyers say ReliaStar is violating California law which does not allow insurance companies to reexamine applications after the death of the policyholder.

Her lawyers believe the company should have already paid and say the company is acting “maliciously, fraudulently and/or oppressively.”

Since officials have stated that Heath’s cause of death was an accidental drug overdose, and not a suicide, shouldn’t they have to pay?! We think so!

Here is some very interesting news. 

Heath Ledger’s bar, Five Leaves, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City is set to open on Wednesday, almost eight months after the actor’s untimely death. Ledger, who financially backed the bar, died at age 28 of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs in January.

“It’s all meant to be a super casual California- and Australia-tinged cafe, coffeehouse and oyster bar, with greenmarket snacks,” a critic for UrbanDaddy.com wrote.

With steel light fixtures and “wire concoctions that seem right out of a lab,” Five Leaves resembles “a bar that Thomas Edison might have built for his buddies,” according to the review. The door to the bar’s bathroom is a “massive, ’20s-era boiler room door.”

On the bar’s menu? Sliced radishes on toast with Evans Farmhouse butter.

She’s off the hook!

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has closed its investigation into Heath Ledger’s accidental overdose death and will not enforce a subpoena against Mary-Kate Olsen.

The investigation was closed without any charges being filed.

The federal probe focused on how he obtained Oxycontin and Vicodin, two powerful and often-abused painkillers for which Ledger had no prescription.

Masseuse Diana Wolozin found Ledger lying on his bed shortly after 3 p.m., and called Olsen three times, records show. The longest call lasted one minute and three seconds.

Olsen, 22, was subpoenaed by a federal grand jury on April 23, but her attorney had been in negotiations with federal authorities since then, the source said.

Olsen had wanted immunity before testifying. Olsen’s attorney released a statement saying the actress “had nothing to do” with Ledger’s drugs and had already provided “relevant information” to investigators.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and Olsen’s rep both declined to comment.

Hmm…Mary-Kate is lucky.  She seemed to be sweating it out about the investigation.  Something is still shady about the whole situation.

Possibly shady?

Mary-Kate Olsenhas refused to be interviewed by federal investigators from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency who are probing Heath Ledger’s accidental drug-related death. She is lawyered up and won’t talk unless she receives immunity from prosecution, which is her constitutional right.

Why does the 4-foot-11, 90-pound Olsen need immunity?

The New York Post is reporting that MK’s lawyer, Michael Miller, has repeatedly rebuffed the feds’ attempts to talk to Olsen, who was called by her masseuse after the woman discovered Ledger’s unresponsive body in his SoHo apartment in January 2008.

Everyone involved with Ledger — doctors, the masseuse, bodyguards, housekeepers, even Michelle Williams, the mother of his baby daughter, Matilda — has already cooperated and been questioned.

Olsen is reportedly the last witness needed to conclude the investigation into where Heath got the drugs and medicines that caused his accidental death.

The cause of death was determined to be an overdose of sleep-aid medications, prescribed by two doctors, and of a powerful painkiller, OxyContin, from an unknown source.

Investigators want to find out where Heath got the OxyContin.

If Mary-Kate can help investigators get to the bottom of this, shouldn’t she help?

Asked whether he asked for immunity for his client, Mary-Kate Olsen’s lawyer told the Post, “We are not going to comment on whether there is a criminal investigation,” and declined to speak further.

Today, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Christian Bale attend the Japan premiere of The Dark Knight in Tokyo. Love Maggie’s dress!

The Dark Knight continues to enjoy its days in the spotlight as the Heath Ledger, Christian Bale flick earned yet another record, topping the $300 million mark in just ten days.

Following its record-breaking $158 million opening weekend the Batman film grabbed another $75.6 million in its second weekend to reign over the box office yet again. That figure surpassed the previous second weekend mark set by “Shrek 2” in 2004.

Despite the recent controversy surrounding Bale and the untimely death of Ledger the film continues to bring moviegoers to theaters, already placing it at 23rd on the all-time list. The $314 million The Dark Knight has brought in eclipsed Johnny Depp “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” for fastest to reach the figure.

Heath Ledger’s maniacal twist on the Joker in The Dark Knight in no way resembled his true character off set – that of a proud father to his 2-year-old daughter, Matilda, his costars say.

“Because he died people want a dark story [that] he was so obsessed with the character, he was so contaminated by the Joker and he couldn’t sleep and all of that stuff,” said costar Gary Oldman, who plays Lt. Jim Gordon in the film, adding that wasn’t the case.

“In between takes he would sit on the curbside and a smoke cigarette and laugh and talk about his daughter Matilda (pictured with Ledger above),” added Oldman. “I thought he was just a beautiful kid. I thought he was just wonderful. I had a real affection for him.

Ledger, who died in January, gushed about his daughter with actress Michelle Williams to costars on set.

“Heath showed me pictures of [Matilda] … [he] would come in and say she did this and she did that,” recalled Aaron Eckhart, who plays District Attorney Harvey Dent in the sequel out July 18.

But Ledger’s other love on set was for his character, the Joker. Eckhart added: “He really created his look. That character — Heath loved so much. He really cared about the Joker.”

Director Christopher Nolan said he needed an actor who would be “truly fearless” for the role and Ledger was up for the challenge.

“[For] those who knew him and those who had the privilege of working with him, it’s pretty amazing the disparity between the person he was and the monster that he created for us,” Nolan said. “To see that being created from a this very gentle person is a real testament to his skill as an actor.”

Thanks to a tip from YourMovieStuff.com, we have had the pleasure of reading Peter Travers’ review of The Dark Knight.  Take a look at his review; if you were excited about The Dark Knight before, then your excitement will only be further heightened!  He calls Heath Ledger’s performance, “who is mad-crazy-blazing brilliant as the Joker” and even suggests that it is Oscar-worthy. Don’t worry, Travers doesn’t give away of The Dark Knight’s secrets.

We’re glad to see her again!

Michelle Williams, 27, arrived in the south of France in time to dazzle at the red carpet premiere of her film Wendy and Lucy. On Friday, she began promoting Synecdoche, New York, a Charlie Kaufman film costarring the phenominal Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener.

“It was decided on Monday night that she could come to Cannes, and she got on the next plane to arrive just in time to get dressed and come to our premiere,” said a rep for Wendy and Lucy. “She came in and had a long nap and then came to the screening.”

Michelle was radiant in a vintage Chanel Haute Couture dress. Ah, she looks so beautiful and in such a classic way. She will remain in Cannes at least through Friday night to promote another festival movie in which she appears, Synecdoche, New York, before flying back to the United States to resume filming a Martin Scorsese movie in Boston.

Williams has kept a low profile since Ledger died last January at age 28 of an accidental overdose. After attending his memorial service in Australia, she has spent time with their 2-year-old daughter Matilda in New York and on the set of her new film.

Here are some more photos of Michelle Williams at the Cannes Film Festival.
(more…)

We’re not sure if we believe this or not, but this story is definitely picking up buzz.

Reports from Down Under are that one of Heath Ledger’s estranged uncles is claiming the late actor may have fathered a love child when he was a teenager. The uncle claims Ledger was 17-years-old and dating a 25-year-old woman who became pregnant and later gave birth to a baby girl, even though she was living with another man at the time.

The reports about a love child surfaced in Australia’s Daily Telegraph with the estranged uncle claiming “a very real possibility that Heath was the father.”

Don’t you think that if Heath was the father of this baby, that the mother would have gotten a paternity test a while back? Heath was a huge star a few years before he died, so surely the mother would have wanted to know before his untimely death. I guess stranger things have happened though.
(more…)

It’s been almost two months since Heath Ledger’s tragic death and for the first time two of his greatest loves, Michelle Williams and Naomi Watts, are speaking about the late actor and the impact he made on their lives. In the new issue of Interview magazine, Michelle says, “For as long as I’d known him, he had bouts with insomnia. He just had too much energy,” regarding the prescription sleeping pills that were partially to blame for his accidental death. “His mind was turning, turning, turning — always turning. He had an uncontrollable energy. He buzzed. He would jump out of bed.”
(more…)

Heath Ledger’s will leaves everything to his parents and three sisters.

The three page document was filed in his native Australia in 2003 — before he was Oscar nominated for Brokeback Mountain, and became engaged to Michelle Williams and had Matilda, 2.

New documents filed in New York City’s Surrogate Court, as reported by the New York Daily News, show the actor had less than $145,000 in assets when he died January 22. These include $100,000 spread across several bank accounts, a $25,000 hybrid Toyota Prius and $20,000 in furniture and fixtures.

The worth of the Brooklyn townhouse he once shared with Williams, trust funds and Australian residences is unknown.

The Daily News says the bulk of Ledger’s estate will be handled in Australia.

When Michelle Williams spoke to Elle magazine in January, she had no idea she’d be faced with the death of her ex, Heath Ledger, only days later on Jan. 22.

At the time, she was still mourning their breakup. “I didn’t know where to go” after their 2007 split, she says in the magazine’s April issue. “I couldn’t imagine any place in the world that was gonna feel good to me.”

Williams, 27, dove into work on several films, because “when I have too much free time, that’s when things start to get a little messy.”

She also naturally focused on Matilda, 2, her daughter with Ledger. “She’s bigger to me than any relationship, bigger than the awards,” Williams says. “She’s what came out of it.”