philemmons
02-16-07, 08:10 PM
Anna Nicole Smith's will revealed
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (CNN) -- Anna Nicole Smith left everything to her son Daniel, who died in September, according to a will released Friday by a Florida court.
She also named longtime companion Howard K. Stern as executor, according to the document dated July 30, 2001.
The 16-page will was never updated. It does not mention Smith's 5-month-old daughter, Dannielynn. (Read the will -- pdf)
Clouding an already murky legal scenario, some language in the will seems to exclude any of Smith's future spouses or children.
Yet in other sections, it refers to Smith's "children," instructing the executor, for example, to manage the estate "such that my children are distributed sufficient sums for their health, education and support."
The stakes are huge -- perhaps $88 million or more. Smith's heir or heirs stand to inherit a stake in her longstanding claim to the fortune of her late husband, Texas oil baron J. Howard Marshall II.
Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom said the will's language appears to exclude Dannielynn from any inheritance. However, Bloom said, the fact that there is no living heir means that a court battle over the estate is virtually guaranteed.
Assets in trust
Howard K. Stern, Smith's longtime partner, is named as the executor. Bloom suggested that Stern may bow out of the position because of his close relationship to Smith. Attorney Ron Rale is listed as the second choice for executor in the will. (Watch how the will gives Howard Stern legal clout Video)
The executor is authorized set up and oversee a trust on behalf of Smith's beneficiaries, and to make investments on its behalf.
The document is signed "Vickie Lynn Marshall," the name Smith used before finding fame as a Playboy Playmate, Guess jeans model and reality TV show star.
Smith's son would have received distributions at ages 21, 25 and 30. Daniel was 20 when he died.
The judge overseeing the dispute over the former Playmate's burial ordered attorneys to file a copy of the will, which had been the subject of intense speculation since Smith's sudden death eight days ago.
The document is considered crucial to giving Stern the legal standing to determine Smith's final resting place -- the subject of a contentious courtroom battle with Smith's estranged mother, Vergie Arthur. (Watch plans for Anna Nicole's burial dress come out in court Video)
Stern's attorneys say Smith bought a plot in the Bahamas, next to the plot where Daniel is buried. He died of an overdose in September, three days after Dannielynn was born at a Bahamas hospital.
Smith's estranged mother wants to take the body home to Texas for burial in the family plot, her attorneys say.
the rest of the story (http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/02/16/smith.ruling/index.html)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (CNN) -- Anna Nicole Smith left everything to her son Daniel, who died in September, according to a will released Friday by a Florida court.
She also named longtime companion Howard K. Stern as executor, according to the document dated July 30, 2001.
The 16-page will was never updated. It does not mention Smith's 5-month-old daughter, Dannielynn. (Read the will -- pdf)
Clouding an already murky legal scenario, some language in the will seems to exclude any of Smith's future spouses or children.
Yet in other sections, it refers to Smith's "children," instructing the executor, for example, to manage the estate "such that my children are distributed sufficient sums for their health, education and support."
The stakes are huge -- perhaps $88 million or more. Smith's heir or heirs stand to inherit a stake in her longstanding claim to the fortune of her late husband, Texas oil baron J. Howard Marshall II.
Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom said the will's language appears to exclude Dannielynn from any inheritance. However, Bloom said, the fact that there is no living heir means that a court battle over the estate is virtually guaranteed.
Assets in trust
Howard K. Stern, Smith's longtime partner, is named as the executor. Bloom suggested that Stern may bow out of the position because of his close relationship to Smith. Attorney Ron Rale is listed as the second choice for executor in the will. (Watch how the will gives Howard Stern legal clout Video)
The executor is authorized set up and oversee a trust on behalf of Smith's beneficiaries, and to make investments on its behalf.
The document is signed "Vickie Lynn Marshall," the name Smith used before finding fame as a Playboy Playmate, Guess jeans model and reality TV show star.
Smith's son would have received distributions at ages 21, 25 and 30. Daniel was 20 when he died.
The judge overseeing the dispute over the former Playmate's burial ordered attorneys to file a copy of the will, which had been the subject of intense speculation since Smith's sudden death eight days ago.
The document is considered crucial to giving Stern the legal standing to determine Smith's final resting place -- the subject of a contentious courtroom battle with Smith's estranged mother, Vergie Arthur. (Watch plans for Anna Nicole's burial dress come out in court Video)
Stern's attorneys say Smith bought a plot in the Bahamas, next to the plot where Daniel is buried. He died of an overdose in September, three days after Dannielynn was born at a Bahamas hospital.
Smith's estranged mother wants to take the body home to Texas for burial in the family plot, her attorneys say.
the rest of the story (http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/02/16/smith.ruling/index.html)