Update
Heath's Insurer Agrees to Pay Out Policy to Matilda
RAMEY PHOTO
Don't worry about Matilda. Heath Ledger's little girl is going to be taken care of.
Especially now that the insurance company that had been holding out on paying the late actor's $10 million policy has reached a settlement with Ledger's estate.
Since the 28-year-old actor died Jan. 22, 2008, Minnesota-based ReliaStar Life Insurance Co. had been balking (it's an insurance company after all) on making good to Ledger's sole heir, his 2-year-old daughter with Michelle Williams, Matilda Rose.
Even though the coroner labeled Ledger's death an accidental prescription-drug overdose, the insurer suggested Ledger committed suicide, voiding the massive payout.
But on Wednesday, one of the estate's attorneys, William M. Shernoff, informed Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Luis A. Lavin that the two sides had hashed out an agreement.
"We're pleased that we were able to reach an amicable settlement of the dispute," Shernoff tells E! News, declining to divulge any financial details about the confidential deal.
A spokesman for ReliaStar was mum except to confirm the two parties were able to come to terms.
Shernoff has asked the judge to keep the arrangement under seal. The next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23—the day after Ledger is expected to win a posthumous Oscar for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight.
—Additional reporting by Whitney English
(Originally published Jan. 29, 2009 at 11:46 a.m. PT.)
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