Gene Hackman left his children out of his will in bombshell development

Reports suggest they will look to contest it

In a sensational development, all his money was set to go to his wife Betsy in the event of his death and not to his three children - Christopher, Leslie and Elizabeth.

In the event of the pair of them dying within 90 days of each other, all of Betsy’s money was set to go to charity.

According to US reports, Hackman’s son has already hired a top lawyer who specialises in wills which could mean the state of affairs could be challenged.

The children could still potentially inherit as direct living heirs. Hackman and his wife didn't have a pre-nup.

His children have previously said that they had a good relationship with their dad, however, his daughter Elizabeth admitted she had not spoken to him in months prior to his death.

John Budagher, an attorney at Budagher & Tann, said the a court battle could be looming over the will.

He said an important factor could be the date on which any will or legal documents were signed, saying any recent updates could be queried due to Hackman's Alzheimer's.

"If it's more recent, that doesn't mean it's invalid," he said. "It just means it's riper for a potential challenge — especially if it's doing something like leaving everything to a caretaker."

Hackman’s estate are also trying to block the Santa Fe medical examiner and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office from releasing videos, photos and police bodycam.

The pair were discovered dead in separate rooms in their Santa Fe home two weeks ago.

Betsy died of a rare respiratory disease around seven days before her husband, while the actor’s Alzheimer’s disease led cops to believe he may have remained unaware his wife had died.

Earlier this week, the Mirror shared how the actor’s dogs heartbreakingly led paramedics to the actor’s body.

Bear, a German Shepherd, and Nikita, an Akita-shepherd mix, kept running up and barking at the crew attending the scene, before running off.

Police thought the dogs wanted to play before realising they were leading them to the mudroom where Hackman’s body lay.