Philip Seymour Hoffman Did Not Want His Children To Grow Up In Los Angeles

Philip Seymour Hoffman achieved incredible fame in Los Angeles. He made a hell of a lot of money there too, but that doesn’t mean he thought it was a good place to raise children. In fact, his will makes it pretty clear he wasn’t exactly infatuated with Southern California.

According to TMZ, Hoffman’s will, which was first drawn up in 2004, requests the children be raised in New York City, so as to be immersed in the culture, arts and architecture. If his longtime partner Mimi O’Donnell wants to move, however, he directly requests she choose either Chicago or San Francisco as back-ups. In addition, he wants his fortune to be used to allow the children to visit the other cities on a regular basis. No mention whatsoever is made of Los Angeles, which, given how much time he spent there, was clearly intentional.

As for the money and wealth itself, Hoffman reportedly left most of his estate to O’Donnell. By all accounts, she’s an extremely sensible woman. So, it shouldn’t be an issue at all in terms of how she will manage the money. A trust has already been set up for Hoffman’s oldest son that he can redeem at thirty. Hopefully, she will set up the same arrangements for the two younger children.

If nothing else, this will is a great reminder of what an interesting guy Hoffman really was. He had very little in common with the average Hollywood celebrity. He didn’t seek out fame. He was a man deeply interested in the craft, in arts, in culture and in experiencing new things. He made some poor choices at the end of his life, but he deserves to be remembered as a true original who cared about so much more than just money and people recognizing him.

To revisit Hoffman’s greatness, you can our article on his best performances or you can check out Hoffman crush it in The Master below…