With the Oscars right around the corner, this Sunday to be exact,  it has been decided that if Heath Ledger wins for best supporting actor during the Academy Awards ceremony his daughter with actress Michelle Williams,  Matilda Rose Ledger, 3, will become the owner of the Oscar statuette .

The 3-year old has been designated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as the eventual owner of her father’s Oscar, should he win for his portrayal of the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”

Bruce Davis, executive director of the academy says:

“It’s complicated, because there are two different questions that have to be answered.  First, we have to decide who gets the job of accepting the award onstage on the night of the ceremony. And then there’s the question of the eventual disposition of the posthumous statuette, which may not stay with the person who accepts it.”

Academy tradition calls for the famous statuette to go to the spouse, or, if there is no living spouse, to the oldest child.  Ledger was not married, and Matilda is his only child which made the second question the hardest to work out.

A conclusion was made that:

“In the event that Heath Ledger should be selected as the supporting actor recipient, the statuette will be held in trust for his daughter by her mother, Michelle Williams, until Matilda reaches the age of 18.   At that point, she may execute what we call an heir’s agreement and keep the statuette forever — or, if she chooses not to do that, it will return to us.”