Sunday, 18 February 2007

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Anna Nicole Smith's will revealed

She leaves everything to her deceased son Daniel

Anna Nicole Smith's will has been revealed, and it leaves everything to her deceased son Daniel, CNN reports.

Smith's companion, Howard K. Stern, is named as the executor of the estate. The will was written in 2001 and was not updated after the birth of her daughter, Dannielynn Hope.

The document says that Smith's estate should be held in trust for Daniel, who died last September. It's not clear how the document will affect the ongoing custody and paternity battle over Smith's baby girl.

A clause in the document, which states, "I have intentionally omitted to provide for my spouse, including any future spouses or children," seems to exclude Dannielynn.

Analyzing the will, Lisa Bloom of Court TV, said on CNN that the dispersal of Smith's assets will be the key issue, "because no one ever imagined that Daniel would pre-decease her."

The document was signed by Vickie Lynn Marshall (Smith's real name) and gives Stern full authority to take care of assets and property.

The will was released Friday after Florida Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin directed attorneys to file a copy of it.

It does not say where Smith wished to be buried. There has been a bitter conflict between Stern and Smith's estranged mother, Vergie Arthur, over where Smith's remains should be buried. Stern maintains that Smith bought a plot in the Bahamas next to her son, Daniel. Arthur, on the other hand, wants Smith buried in a plot in the family's home state of Texas.

The issue of where to bury Smith will be revisited on Tuesday when Stern has been ordered by Judge Seidlin to appear in person in a Florida courtroom to offer testimony in the case.

So far, Stern has not made an appearance in the Fort Lauderdale court where the fight for Smith's body has been waged. His attorney, Krista Barth, had tried to have Stern testify from the Bahamas by phone, claiming he could not leave Danielynn.

However, in the ruling on Stern's court appearance, Judge Seidlin was swayed by Arthur's attorney, who pointed out that Stern and Smith had previously left the infant with a babysitter when they traveled to Florida to attend a boxing match and to buy a boat. It was during the latter trip, in fact, that on Feb. 8 Smith collapsed and died at a Seminole, Fla. hotel.

Seidlin also signed an order to have Smith's refrigerated remains embalmed on Friday. However, the procedure was postponed after two employees at the funeral home refused to sign a document guaranteeing secrecy of the process. The court is seeking another funeral home to agree to the secrecy provisions.