Hedy Lamarr's adopted son sued in Florida in 2000 over a will that left him nothing from her $3.3 million estate

Hedy Lamarr died aged 85 at her home in Seminole County, Florida. Her will, signed in November 1999, left about $1.8 million to her son Anthony Loder and about $1.2 million to her daughter Denise Loder-DeLuca, and about $83,000 each to four friends. It left nothing to James Lamarr Loder, 61, of Omaha, whom she had adopted and from whom she had been estranged for about 50 years, according to the estate. In October 2000 his lawyers challenged the will in Seminole County court. He argued she was not of sound mind and alleged fraud, duress, coercion or undue influence by those named in it, and he sought one-third of the $3.3 million estate. The estate said she was "sharp as a tack" when she signed, and the drafting lawyer said she was alert. Her children offered him $20,000, which he refused. Circuit Judge James Stephenson gave his lawyers until February 2001 to produce proof of incapacity. Some later accounts say the case settled for $50,000; I could not confirm that from a primary or independent source^†.