Selasa, 04 Desember 2007

Anna Nicole Estate Still Up In Heir (E! Online)





Los Angeles (E! Online) - Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead is the

sole remaining offspring of Anna Nicole Smith. Whether shes also the

models sole remaining heir has yet to be determined.



A Los Angeles judge has postponed a hearing to rule on executor

Howard K. Sterns request to name the 15-month-old girl the lone

beneficiary of Smiths estate to give papa Larry Birkhead adequate

time to respond to the motion.



However, unlike the last time Stern, Birkhead and Dannielynns names

were on a docket, this time around, everyone appears to be on the

same side.



Lawyers for both men told Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff

Tuesday that there was no dispute over the rights of Dannielynn,

chalking up the delay in the hearing as nothing more than a legal

courtesy.



Were absolutely united in doing whats best for Dannielynn, Sterns

lawyer, Bruce S. Ross, said. Its just a matter of putting all our

ducks in a row.



In October, Stern filed a motion seeking to establish the tot as the

sole heir to Smiths estate, which could potentially be worth hundreds

of millions of dollars if Smiths lawyers manage to collect a disputed

sum from her late husband, oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II.



As it stands, Smiths will was drafted in July 2001 and named only

her son, Daniel, as her heir. The document was not updated in the

five months between Dannielynns birth on Sept. 7, 2006, Daniels death

three days later, and Smiths own passing on Feb. 8.



In his petition, Stern argued that as a matter of law, Dannielynn is

a pretermitted heir, meaning, although the girl did not even exist at

the time the will was last updated, she, as Smiths offspring, is

still in line to be an inheritor.



While the estate is currently in probate, should Sterns motion be

approved by the court--and remain unchallenged by Birkhead--then

Dannielynn would never want for Binkies.



At the time of Smiths death, her personal assets were worth about

$710,000. However, she was also awarded $474 million from the

Marshall estate in 2001, a judgment that was later reduced to $88

million before being overturned by an appellate court. In May 2006,

the Supreme Court ruled that Smith could again pursue her claim in

federal court.



Stern appears to be banking on a court reinstating that

multimillion-dollar sum. He filed a creditors claim in Los Angeles

Superior Court in October, requesting 6 percent of any money Smiths

estate recovers from the Marshall inheritance. Stern cited a

contingent fee agreement on file from 2001 stating that hes entitled

to a portion of the proceeds as a lawyer on the initial fight against

the Marshalls.



Neither Stern nor Birkhead appeared in court Tuesday. The new

hearing is scheduled to take place Jan. 7.



 
eXTReMe Tracker