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.