Sunday, 9 March 2008

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Heath Ledger's dad: Michelle & Matilda Rose 'will be taken care of'

Ex-partner and daughter will not be forgotten

Heath Ledger's family moved quickly to speak out Saturday after details of the late actor's will were released – showing he had not updated it since his relationship with Michelle Williams and the 2005 birth of their daughter Matilda Rose.

"Matilda is our absolute priority and Michelle is an integral part of our family," Heath's father Kim Ledger says in a statement. "They will be taken care of and that's how Heath would want it to be."

Ledger's will – filed in Australia in April 2003, before Williams and before his Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain – left everything he owned to his parents and sister, New York's Daily News reported Saturday. A series of documents filed in Manhattan Surrogate's Court revealed that the actor had less than $145,000 in New York assets at the time, including a $25,000 Toyota Prius and $20,000 in furniture and fixtures.

Ledger's rep quickly squashed any speculation that Williams and 2-year-old Matilda would not be provided for. "The story is getting taken out of context and media is speculating that this means Matilda and Michelle will not be taken care of. I want to make it very clear nothing could be farther from the truth."

By Julie Jordan