Stern and Birkhead Work Together for Anna Nicole
Anna Nicole Smith seems to have taught Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead the meaning of teamwork.
The men in the late Playmate's life appeared together in court Tuesday, where Superior Court Commissioner Mitchell L. Beckloff ordered Smith's will into probate. Stern was appointed executor of the will, while Birkhead was named guardian of Smith's estate.
The court will now begin the process of identifying Smith's assets and determining how they should be distributed.
At the time of her death, Smith was worth an estimated $710,000. She left everything to her now-deceased son, Daniel, noting that she had "intentionally omitted to provide for my spouse and other heirs, including future spouses and children and other descendants now living and those hereafter born or adopted."
Bruce Ross, an attorney for Stern and the estate, said that Smith was not expecting to have any more children when she drew up the will in 2001, but that she would have wanted Dannielynn, her daughter with Birkhead, to be her beneficiary.
He said the lawyer who drafted the will would testify that he and Smith discussed amending the document in the event of future children.
"She said, 'I probably won't have future children, but if I do I would want them to be the beneficiaries of the trust,'" Ross said outside the courthouse.
As Smith's sole surviving offspring, Dannielynn also potentially stands to inherit millions from the estate of her mother's late husband, Texas oil magnate J. Howard Marshall II, who died in 1995.
Following the hearing, Birkhead and Stern also spoke to reporters, stating that they were on good terms and shared the common goal of looking out for Dannielynn's welfare and future.
"Right now, Dannielynn is the most famous baby in America," Stern said. "Maybe five years from now it won't be that way and she can just be a normal little girl."
Though he plans to return to the Bahamas, where he has been living since last year, he said he would do whatever he could to assist Birkhead in raising the child.
"I'm going to help Larry any way I can," Stern said. "Larry will be a good father."
Stern also indicated that he was pleased with the judge's ruling. "It's a relief to see a judge in America who's not interested in getting his own TV show," he said in a jab at Larry Seidlin, the judge who presided in the dispute over Smith's remains, and who recently announced his resignation amid rumors that he plans to pursue a TV career.
Birkhead was also happy about the outcome of the hearing.
"I have another new title today. In addition to father, I'm guardian. So it's a very good day," he said.
He said he had just celebrated his first Father's Day with his daughter, adding, "It's one I will remember."
The doting dad said he plans to live in Los Angeles with Dannielynn unless the paparazzi attention makes it impossible.
As a former photographer himself, Birkhead said he was considering taking up a new line of work.
"You guys are always taking pictures of me so I can't take pictures anymore," he said. "Maybe I'll go to law school."
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