Baby Daughter Is Anna Nicole's Only Heir

Court ruling means Dannielynn may inherit billions
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 4, 2008 5:15 PM CST
Baby Daughter Is Anna Nicole's Only Heir
Howard K. Stern, left, Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend, and Richard Milstein , the court-appointed advocate for then 5-month-old Dannielynn, daughter of Anna Nicole Smith, look on during oral arguments at the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach, Fla., in this, Feb. 28, 2007, file photo. (AP...   (Associated Press)

Anna Nicole Smith’s 18-month-old daughter is sole heir to the ex-model's estate, a Los Angeles court ruled today. Dannielynn stands to inherit billions if the ongoing legal dispute over the fortune of Smith's second husband, J. Howard Marshall, is resolved in her mother's favor, People reports. Anna Nicole's will named her son, Daniel, her heir, but he died shortly after Dannielynn was born, the AP reports.

"We and Mr. Stern always believed that Anna Nicole never intended to disinherit her daughter," said a lawyer for Smith's executor, Howard K. Stern. "I'm pleased to say this chapter in the saga is closed." Today's ruling also established a trust in the baby's name with her father, Larry Birkhead, and Stern as co-trustees. (More Anna Nicole Smith stories.)

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