Baby Matilda gets dad Heath Ledger's estate; Insurance company refuses to pay $10 million

From the AP:

Heath Ledger's 2-year-old daughter Matilda Rose will inherit all of her father's estate, Ledger's father Kim said.

The Australian actor, who died from an accidental prescription drug overdose in January, signed a will before his daughter was born leaving everything to his parents and three sisters. Some had speculated his former partner Michelle Williams would lodge a claim for the money.

But Kim told Australia's Sunday Times that the family had given all the money to Matilda and that there had been no challenge from Williams.

"There is no claim," the newspaper quoted Kim Ledger. "Our family has gifted everything to Matilda."

The actor signed the will on April 12, 2003. It lists assets and cash of just $118,000, but the actor's estate is believed to be worth more than $16.3 million, the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, TMZ and the L.A. Times say ReliaStar Life Insurance Co. is refusing to pay a $10 million life insurance policy for Heath that was written just six months before his death. They apparently want their own investigation into the incident, since they don't buy the NYC medical examiner's ruling it was accidental. Because is it was a suicide, they won't have to pay, you see.

Matilda was the beneficiary of the policy, so a trustee for the 2-year-old has filed a suit against ReliaStar, saying it is acting in bad faith by not paying the claim. An investigation could take years, but we're willing to bet it would cost ReliaStar a whole lot less than actually doing what they were hired to do.

Adelaide accountant Mark Dyson, who is an executor of the estate, said he could not reveal how much Matilda would inherit, besides some well wishes from The Juice*.

[Photo: Getty Images]

Source and source