James Tupper Has 'Little to No Claim' in Legal Proceedings with Anne Heche's Son: Legal Expert

Anne Heche's son, Homer Laffoon, may have the upper hand in legal proceedings against James Tupper's request to become the guardian ad litem of his 13-year-old son Atlas Heche Tupper

By Kelly Wynne and Stephanie Wenger 

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James Tupper may have no legal ground in asking to be the guardian ad litem of his biological son, Atlas Heche Tupper, according to a legal expert.

Family law expert, Atousa Saei, explained to PEOPLE why Anne Heche's son and Atlas' half-brother, Homer Laffoon, may have the upper hand in litigation regarding Heche's estate.

"I really think that Tupper is just going to be kind of faded out of this whole situation," Saei told PEOPLE. "I think he's the father of a minor who stands to inherit from his mother, and I think that's really going to be the extent of his involvement here. I don't think that the court's going to find that he's a valid — that he's the executor of it, of the estate."

She added, "I also don't think the court is likely to award him as the [guardian ad litem] here. Because remember, if the court does need to appoint someone as the GAL, the court can just appoint a neutral. It doesn't have to be him." 

Photo: David Buchan/BAFTA LA/Getty

On Tuesday, Laffoon, 20, filed an opposition — obtained by PEOPLE — against Tupper's request to become the guardian ad litem of Atlas, 13. This is not the same as a legal guardian, however, it gives the guardian rights to decide what is in the best interest of the child in a legal sense. Theoretically, this would give Tupper, 57, control over Heche's estate as passed on to Atlas.

Saei compared this to Britney Spears' former conservatorship. "Sometimes, as we saw in the Britney Spears case, the guardian ad litem in representing the best interest of the incapacitated party might report back to the court things that are completely, completely different than what that incapacitated party wants," she said. 

Photo:  getty (2); Anne Heche/Instagram

On Monday, Tupper filed paperwork asking that Laffoon (whom Heche shared with ex-husband Coleman Laffoon) be removed as the temporary executor of Heche's estate.

His legal claim, obtained by PEOPLE, stated: "In order to preserve family harmony and a healthy, brotherly relationship between ATLAS and HOMER, and given the complexity this estate will foreseeably involve – i.e. intellectual property and publishing issues, possibly third party claims, and public relations issues – a bonded, neutral, private professional fiduciary would be a more appropriate administrator." 

Photo:  Rachel Murray/Getty

Laffoon's response asked for Tupper to be removed from any involvement in Heche's estate, as they were no longer in a relationship at the time of her death. To do this, he cited possible "conflict of interest" — which relates to the potential of a lawsuit by Heche's estate to remove him as any beneficiary.

"[Laffoon] raises up something interesting where he said, 'Had they been married, during the divorce process, that would've been handled, but because they weren't married, it's like an oversight on her end where she just failed to change the beneficiaries of some of her accounts,'" Saei added. "So now he's got the money and they pointed to that as a direct conflict of interest in being appointed a guardian ad litem because they were saying that the estate may actually have to go sue him." 

In September, Tupper surfaced an email from Heche dated 2011 that was to serve as an electronic will, after it was assumed Heche died without a will. Laffoon has challenged the will's legitimacy because it was not physically signed, or overseen by two legal witnesses.

In Saei's professional opinion, this will is not valid. "I think it fails in more than one area," she said. "It's not just that it's electronic, but it's also because you don't have a valid signature, you don't have witnesses and so forth." 

Heche died after being involved in a fiery car accident in Los Angeles on Aug. 5. After being in a coma, the state of California declared Heche legally dead on Aug. 12. She was temporarily kept on life support in order to donate her organs. On Aug. 14, her rep confirmed to PEOPLE she had been taken off of life support.  

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James Tupper Has 'Little to No Claim' in Legal Proceedings with Anne Heche's Son: Legal Expert