Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s enormous £9million real estate portfolio includes properties in New Mexico and Hawaii – and they all include one odd detail. Around February 18, the Hollywood actor died at the age of 95 from heart disease and complications of Alzheimer’s.

He was found dead in his New Mexico home around a week later along with his wife, Betsy, 65, who died from a rare disease known as hantavirus about a week before her husband died on February 12. At the time of their deaths, the pair owned three pricey properties, according to The Sun. Their Santa Fe compound where they died is estimated to be worth a staggering $3.8million (£3million).

It has now been discovered that they also owned two additional properties. According to the outlet, they also owned a massive commercial real estate property in Honolulu. The mixed-use property appears to span two separate buildings and includes businesses and residential apartments.

According to the tax assessor’s office, the property is worth over $6million (£4.6million). The happy couple also owned a smaller plot of land in New Mexico and is worth approximately $1million (£772,700) according to that local tax assessor.

Despite Gene being the breadwinner in their marriage and being worth an estimated $80million (£61million), all the couple’s properties are listed solely in Betsy’s name. Meanwhile, Betsy has no children and has determined in her will all of her estate is to go to charity.

Although Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie, 58, are names as Gene’s children in the will, the actor made Betsy the sole beneficiary of his trust and estate.

However, since Betsy’s death pre-dated Gene’s, his children may be entitled to claim the estate as his living heirs. Gene had his three children with his ex-wife Faye Maltese, whom he was married to from 1956 to 1986.

But if Hackman’s children are not named trustees and decided to contest their late father’s will, they’d face an “uphill legal battle”, according to former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani, president of Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers.

Speaking to the Mirror US, Rahmani told them: “Hackman’s children do not have an automatic right to inherit, and they can be left out of his will.

“To challenge the will, Hackman’s children will have to argue that Hackman lacked capacity to understand the will, someone exerted undue influence over him, the will was a forgery or signed fraudulently, or the will did not meet the witness or other requirements of New Mexico law.

“That is an uphill legal battle, and not likely to be successful,” he added. Hackman’s estate is mostly made up of two trusts – the Gene Hackman Living Trust and the GeBe Revocable Trust.

With the designated trustees deceased, the court decided to appoint Avalon Trust LLC as a temporary successor as of Thursday, March 20. Avalon Trust is supposed to ensure that taxes are filled, beneficiaries are notified, and the estate remains properly managed.