Gene Hackman's will revealed - and it contains a twist worthy of any of his Hollywood thrillers

Actor Gene Hackman's will has been revealed - and it contains a twist worthy of any of his Hollywood thrillers. The star, who was found dead along with wife Betsy Arakawa last month at the home the pair shared, left his entire fortune to her, TMZ reported.

However, as she has also died, it is not clear where the estate will go. If she was to receive the fortune, posthumously, her own will leaves everything to charity. This would mean Hackman's three children - son Christopher and daughters Leslie and Elizabeth - would miss out on any inheritance.

What happens to the estate could depend on the timing of the pair's deaths. If Betsy, who is believed to have died after contracting rare disease hantavirus, passed away first, then Hackman's fortune would not have gone to her.

If the opposite was true - and his death due to cardiovascular disease came after his wife's - then the children look likely to inherit the estate.

However, in a further plot twist, Betsy's will leaves most of her assets to Gene, but there's a provision which says if they died within 90 days of each other, it would be considered a simultaneous death, and in that case, her will provides all of her assets would go to charity.

TMZ reports Andrew M Katzenstein, a California trust and estate attorney, has been hired by Gene's son Chris, the oldest sibling, ahead of any potential legal battles over the will.

Before his death, Hackman discussed his difficult relationship with his children, saying he wasn't around for much of Chris' formative years, but had grown closer to his children later in life.

Julia Peters, a representative for the estate of Hackman and Arakawa, has also filed paperwork asking the court to grant a preliminary injunction preventing authorities from releasing any photo or video of evidence of the death scene, on privacy grounds.