Katharine Hepburn's Will

JULY 28--Katharine Hepburn left the bulk of her estate to family members, bequeathed her Oscars and other memorabilia to charity, asked that part of her Connecticut estate be preserved for public use, and gave ABC News correspondent Cynthia McFadden furniture and paintings from her New York townhouse, according to court records obtained by The Smoking Gun.

In her will, Hepburn directed that her remains be cremated and that her ashes be interred in a family plot at a Hartford cemetery. She also requested that no funeral or memorial service be held. Hepburn, 96, died last month of cardiac arrest at her waterfront home in Old Saybrook. Click here to view a copy of Hepburn's will, which she signed in January 1992. The actress signed a six-page codicil, or amendment, in March 1994 (click here to view that document).

According to the Connecticut Court of Probate records, Hepburn left $200,000 to Norah Moore, her longtime housekeeper; $10,000 to McFadden; $50,000 to Erik Hanson, her accountant; and $5000 to Freya Manson, her literary agent. The actress also bequeathed $10,000 each to the Actors Fund of America, the Motion Picture and Television Fund, and an Episcopal church in Maryland where her grandfather was a rector. She also established $100,000 trusts for a nephew and a grandniece.

Her personal belongings--furniture, jewelry, clothing, cars, artwork, etc.--will be distributed to family, friends, and charitable organizations (or possibly sold) at the discretion of her executors, though Hepburn's will requests that they "be guided by my wishes which I may have made known to them from time to time." Hepburn's codicil specifies that her friend McFadden receive an assortment of furniture, including an 18th century oak dresser, from the star's Manhattan home, as well as two artworks, one of which Hepburn painted. A portrait of the actress was also bequeathed to the National Gallery of Art.

Hepburn's memorabilia collections--her four Oscars, costumes, scripts, photos, and scrapbooks--will be given to a "charitable organization" to be selected by her executors. She also authorized her executors, if they so choose, to pursue publication of her "manuscripts, letters or other personal papers or records." As such, she directed the executors to "consult with publishers, editors, literary agents" to determine "the advisability of publishing such literary works."

She also directed that her remaining property, including her Connecticut and New York homes be sold, with the proceeds of her estate to be divided equally between her sister Margaret, brother Robert, and the family members of her late siblings Richard and Marion.

While part of Hepburn's waterfront estate in Old Saybrook will be sold, the actress directed that a portion of the 7.17 acre property be turned over to a government agency or "environmental or conservation organization" that will "protect the lot from development" and maintain the space "for the benefit of the general public."

In a July 7 court application, McFadden, one of Hepburn's executors, estimated that the star's personal property was worth $800,000 and valued the "gross taxable estate" at $10 million. The latter figure seems to be a lowball estimate of Hepburn's property, which, at the time of her death, was estimated to be in excess of $20 million.