Anne Heche's Ex James Tupper Reprimanded by Judge as He Battles Homer Laffoon in Court Over Estate

The legal back-and-forth over Anne Heche's estate is far from finished.

Heche's ex James Tupper and their 13-year-old son Atlas Heche Tupper reported to courthouse in Los Angeles on Tuesday to take the next step in their ongoing dispute against Heche's other son Homer Laffoon over who will control the late actress's assets and be appointed the guardian ad litem of Atlas.

In a less than 15-minute hearing, Judge Lee Bogdanoff addressed Christopher Johnson, who was in court with his client, Tupper and his 13-year-old son Atlas, as well as the attorney representing Homer Laffoon, Bryan Phipps. Laffoon, 20, was not in court while Phipps attended via Zoom.

The judge didn't mince words and began the hearing by saying, "I take it the matter has not been resolved." All parties concurred and the court found that Tupper, 57, and his son had not yet gained access to Heche's apartment to gather items, including clothing and Atlas' computer.

The judge asked Phipps why access hadn't been granted so Atlas could collect his belongings and "maybe to look around in memory of his mom." Phipps replied that there were some outstanding issues, such as an inventory of personal property before granting access. There was discussion that photos were taken of certain items and that Tupper was made aware those would be available for pick-up.

When the judge asked if the items had been picked up, Tupper replied no and claimed this just happened yesterday. The judge then asked Phipps why, adding, "Yesterday? That's a small detail you left out." However, Phipps went on to argue how it was allegedly two weeks ago.

The judge then confirmed Tupper and Atlas could go and pick up the items in question, but he did not grant general access to the apartment. "Get into the apartment, get his stuff as quickly as possible. You wanna walk around, that's fine too," Bogdanoff said.

The judge made it clear the brothers have an equal interest in the estate and that it will get divided equally. Johnson said the real issue is who will be the administrator of the estate, which led to a bunch of back-and-forth regarding the matter.

The judge was very terse on the subject, explaining that it doesn't matter if Homer is employed or if he's been communicative with his brother. "We're not nominating, we're not deciding who's the greatest person here. In order to prevent disappointment as administrator, I'd have to find that there are grounds for his removal. That's fraud, conflict of interest, doing something terrible," Bogdanoff said.

Johnson then interjected, arguing that "the issue is the way he's treated Atlas so far" and claimed Laffoon hasn't been communicating with his brother and denied him access to the apartment.

The judge also noted that there aren't a lot of hard assets in this case, but pointed to Heche's intellectual property as well as potential creditors. When Johnson argued that Homer isn't qualified, the judge replied with, "Sir, in California if you're illiterate you can be an administrator. Ok? If you can't read, you've never gone to college, you can be an administrator. Ok? The fact that he may be generation Z or whatever, or maybe he's a chill guy, that doesn't disqualify him. Maybe he's not the greatest communicator, that doesn't disqualify him. None of it does."

Johnson tried to argue that Laffoon locked Atlas out without any authority and the judge responded with irritation: "He changed the locks. Somebody dies tragically and suddenly. There's a gray area to what he can and can't do. Everybody's trying to figure it out."

He then told Johnson he felt he was largely wasting his time. "We're not here to pick like the best person. I'm here to decide if he's qualified, or disqualified," he said.

Tupper, who was standing beside his lawyer and son at the podium, was shaking his head and the judge was furious. "Why are you shaking your head? It's very disrespectful. Don't shake your head at me — ever if you're going to appear again. Please take your hands out of your pockets, sir. You wanna say something?"

A startled Tupper replied, "Sure. I don't feel that his older brother is going to look out for him. We've waited two months to get into the apartment."

Tupper said he'd already bought Atlas a new computer and later claimed that Homer is treating Atlas like they're "enemies." He added how Atlas is "going through grief and this is complicating everything" and that he worried their relationship could be permanently ruined over this.

Atlas never spoke during the hearing — he remained quiet throughout and stayed by his father's side, appearing to be very sad. The group is set to appear in court again on Nov. 30.

In a statement to PEOPLE after the hearing, Laffoon's attorney said: "We are pleased—but not surprised—with the court's ruling this morning denying James' petition to appoint himself guardian ad litem for Atlas. We look forward to the court resolving Homer's petition at the next hearing and, in the meantime, Homer will continue to diligently administer the Estate pursuant to his authority as Special Administrator."

Laffoon, Heche's son with ex Coleman Laffoon, filed his opposition last Tuesday claiming Tupper has "conflicts of interest" in becoming the 13-year-old's guardian ad litem and that his appointment in this circumstance "would actually harm the interests of [Atlas]."

In the filing obtained by PEOPLE, Laffoon claims Tupper is "precluded from serving as the minor's guardian ad litem based on several actual and potential conflicts of interest."

Noting that Tupper has acted as a father figure for both Laffoon and Atlas, Laffoon claims that relationship could pose problems if he's "ever forced to side with one child against the other."

According to a legal expert, Tupper may not have any legal ground asking to be the guardian ad litem of Atlas.

Family law expert Atousa Saei explained to PEOPLE last week why Laffoon may have the upper hand in litigation regarding Heche's estate.

"I really think that Tupper is just going to be kind of faded out of this whole situation," Saei told PEOPLE. "I think he's the father of a minor who stands to inherit from his mother, and I think that's really going to be the extent of his involvement here. I don't think that the court's going to find that he's a valid — that he's the executor of it, of the estate."

She added, "I also don't think the court is likely to award him as the [guardian ad litem] here. Because remember, if the court does need to appoint someone as the GAL, the court can just appoint a neutral. It doesn't have to be him."

One day before Laffoon's filing, Tupper filed paperwork asking that Laffoon be removed as the temporary executor of Heche's estate.

His legal claim, obtained by PEOPLE, stated: "In order to preserve family harmony and a healthy, brotherly relationship between ATLAS and HOMER, and given the complexity this estate will foreseeably involve – i.e. intellectual property and publishing issues, possibly third party claims, and public relations issues – a bonded, neutral, private professional fiduciary would be a more appropriate administrator."

RELATED VIDEO: James Tupper Has 'Little to No Claim' in Legal Proceedings with Anne Heche's Son: Legal Expert

Laffoon's response asked for Tupper to be removed from any involvement in Heche's estate, noting the Men in Trees costars were no longer in a relationship at the time of her death. To do this, he cited possible "conflict of interest" — which relates to the potential of a lawsuit by Heche's estate to remove him as any beneficiary.

"[Laffoon] raises up something interesting where he said, 'Had they been married, during the divorce process, that would've been handled, but because they weren't married, it's like an oversight on her end where she just failed to change the beneficiaries of some of her accounts,'" Saei added. "So now he's got the money and they pointed to that as a direct conflict of interest in being appointed a guardian ad litem because they were saying that the estate may actually have to go sue him."

In September, Tupper surfaced an email from Heche dated 2011 that was to serve as an electronic will, after it was assumed Heche died without a will. Laffoon has challenged the will's legitimacy because it was not physically signed or overseen by two legal witnesses, as mandated by California law.

In Saei's professional opinion, this will is not valid. "I think it fails in more than one area," she said. "It's not just that it's electronic, but it's also because you don't have a valid signature, you don't have witnesses and so forth."

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Heche died after being involved in a fiery car accident in Los Angeles on Aug. 5. After being in a coma, the state of California declared Heche legally dead on Aug. 12. She was temporarily kept on life support in order to prepare her organs for donation. On Aug. 14, her rep confirmed to PEOPLE she had been taken off of life support.