Anne Heche and James Tupper’s Ups and Downs: Child Support Battle, Estate Claims and More

Credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Starpix/Shutterstock

Anne Heche and James Tupper’s Ups and Downs: Child Support Battle, Estate Claims and More

A complicated relationship. Anne Heche’s former partner James Tupper claimed that the late actress, who died with no will, left him her estate. According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, the Big Little Lies actor objected to a court’s decision to put Heche’s son Homer Laffoon in charge of the estate in September 2022. Homer is the Walking and Talking actress’ only son with her ex-husband, Coleman “Coley” Laffoon. Prior to Heche’s death at age 53 following a car crash in August 2022, the Ohio native and Tupper dated for over a decade. The pair met in 2006 on the set of their film Men In Trees while Heche was still married to Coley and began dating the following year. Coley and the Birth actress finalized their divorce in March 2009, the same year she and Tupper welcomed their son, Atlas. After a divorce and a high-profile relationship with Ellen DeGeneres in the late 1990s, the Emmy Award winner joked that she was enjoying being “eternally engaged” to Tupper during a May 2011 interview with The Telegraph. [jwplayer w5Cyg3YL-zhNYySv2] “Well, he’s given me a ring every year, so, I don’t want to stop that. I have quite a collection,” she told the outlet at the time. “Besides, I’ve been married before and so has he. I don’t know what either of us would gain or what would change that would benefit us." Heche added that despite not being married on paper, her relationship with the Revenge alum was “obviously working out pretty well.” Five years later, however, the couple called it quits and the Volcano actress filed a petition to establish custody of their son and child support. The ensuing proceedings were not always cordial, with Heche seeking to obtain her former partner’s full financial records including his tax information, assets and acting contracts. During a February 2020 hearing on the matter, Tupper’s legal representative Laura Wasser claimed that the Psycho actress was willfully delaying a resolution in the case. “I think if she is not seeing numbers that she likes, she asks for additional information. [A] credit card statement for Mr. Tupper in 2019 is not going to help Ms. Heche either reduce her income or increase his,” Wasser said at the time. She continued: “My issue here, your honor, is when we try to comply to what should be a relatively simple [case] … for some reason, Ms. Heche continuously directs [her attorney] Ms. [Teresa] Lin to do things that will not resolve the case.” Despite their disagreements, Tupper posted a tribute to the Six Days, Seven Nights actress while she was in a coma in September 2022. Just hours before Heche’s death was confirmed, the Mercy alum shared a photo of his former partner via Instagram, writing, “Love you forever 💔.” Scroll through for a look back at Heche and Tupper’s ups and downs over the years:

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Movie Set Meeting

The pair met on the set of their film Men In Trees in 2006, when Heche was still married to Coley.

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Falling in Love

The duo began dating in 2007. Heche’s then-husband filed for divorce after five years of marriage shortly after, seeking joint custody of their son, Homer.

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Welcoming Their Son

Heche and Tupper welcomed their first child together, son Atlas, in March 2009. Atlas was just 13 at the time of his mother’s death.

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Starring in 'Aftermath' Together

The couple starred in the SyFy series Aftermath together, which premiered in September 2016. While promoting the show together on CTV News, Tupper revealed that he was cast first and then asked producers if they’d hire Heche.

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Calling it Quits

After more than a decade together, the two actors split in January 2018. Heche filed a petition to establish custody of their son and child support shortly thereafter.

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Child Support Battle

The former couple initially agreed to stay in their shared home on alternate weeks when they had custody with her son. However, their amicable agreements soon turned to accusations.

According to court documents obtained by The Daily Mail in November 2019, Heche alleged that Tupper changed the security code so she couldn’t access the house while he showed the property to inspectors. The Canada native denied the claims.

Heche and Tupper’s disputes over child support continued into 2020 with the Wag the Dog actress seeking to obtain the Aftermath actor’s full financial records.

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Estate Claims

Following the Call Me Crazy author’s death, Tupper claimed in September 2022 that she had left him her estate despite not leaving a will. He claimed that Heche stated her intentions in a January 2011 email.

“FYI In case I die tomorrow and anyone asks, 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,” the alleged email read. “They will be divided equally among our children, currently Homer Heche Laffoon and Atlas Heche Tupper, and their portion given to each when they are the age of 25. When the last child turns 25 any house or other properties owned may be sold and the money divided equally among our children.”

That same month, Homer filed his own request to be put in charge of his mother’s estate. His former stepfather objected to a court granting the request, claiming that Homer was estranged from Heche at the time of her death “due to his dropping out of university studies and not working to support himself.”

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Tupper's Petition Denied

In October 2022, the Aftermath actor's petition to become his son Atlas' guardian ad litem was denied. The ruling also denied Tupper's request to have control over the 13-year-old's portion of his late mother's estate until he turns 18. 

“We are pleased — but not surprised — with the court’s ruling this morning denying James’ petition to appoint himself guardian ad litem for Atlas,” a rep for Laffoon said in a statement to Us after the ruling.