A $10 million life insurance policy taken out by actor Heath Ledger before his death has not been paid out yet, according to a lawsuit.
Ledger, whose wicked portrayal of the Joker helped lift *The Dark Knight *to the top of the 2008 box office, took out the policy from Minnesota-based ReliaStar Life Insurance, according to the Associated Press. Instead of paying out the money, the company is stalling for time while investigating whether Ledger lied on his paperwork or even committed suicide. A lawsuit brought against ReliaStar by Ledger's former attorney, John S. LaViolette, was filed in July seeking money for Ledger's 2-year-old daughter, Matilda Rose.
"There's a young girl whose father died who is entitled to this money, and ReliaStar is doing everything it can to avoid paying," said attorney William Shernoff, who is representing both LaViolette and Matilda Rose, in a press release. "There's not a shred of evidence it was suicide."
Matilda Rose will inherit Ledger's estate, valued at $16 million, but her attorneys might have a tough time choking money out of ReliaStar. With the cratering of AIG and other economic titans in the current Wall Street mess, banks, brokers and insurance companies are almost out of cash, or "liquidity" as econ nerds call it. (Will the bailout will help? Insert sarcasm here.)
Either way, if lawyers for a late Hollywood actor who died at the peak of his career can't get an insurance company to pay up for his recently arrived daughter, who can? It might be time to read the fine print on your policy (or maybe get the Joker to handle your finances).
Photo courtesy Warner Bros.
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