The estate of Anna Nicole has lost the final bid to obtain her late husband J Howard Marshall’s fortune, seven years after the death of the Playboy model.
Anna Nicole Smith married Texas oil tycoon J Howard Marshall in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26.
J Howard Marshall died in 1995, leaving his $1.6 billion estate to his son and nothing to Anna Nicole Smith, which she challenged.
A judge has now halted efforts by lawyers acting on behalf of Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter to obtain $44 million.
After J Howard Marshall’s death, Anna Nicole Smith – using her real name Vickie Lynn Marshall – filed legal papers claiming he had promised to leave her more than $300 million in his will.
During the past two decades, many attempts have been made to overturn the will, including the Texas bankruptcy court and US Supreme Court.
The estate of Anna Nicole has lost the final bid to obtain her late husband J Howard Marshall’s fortune (photo Getty Images)
A Houston jury previously ruled J Howard Marshall was mentally fit and under no undue pressure when he wrote his will, leaving his fortune to his son E Pierce Marshall – who himself died in 2006.
Efforts continued after Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental drug overdose in February 2007, with lawyers representing her seven-year-old daughter Dannielynn, who lives with her father Larry Birkhead.
However, District Court Judge David Carter’s ruling means this will be the end of the matter.
“Time spent litigating the relationship between Vickie Lynn and J Howard has extended for nearly five times the length of their relationship and nearly 20 times the length of their marriage,” Judge David Carter said in court.
“It is neither reasonable nor practical to go forward.”
Judge David Carter also said while the record showed J Howard Marshall and his lawyers had “a distinct disinterest in rules or ethics”, Dannielynn Birkhead’s lawyers had failed to provide sufficient evidence of actual damages for him to award sanctions, Forbes reported.
J Howard Marshall family’s lawyer, G Eric Brunstad Jr., said in a statement they agreed with the judge it was time to stop legal proceedings.
Dannielynn Birkhead played up the chance to throw on her best new dress as she and her father Larry attended the premiere for The Smurfs 2 in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Dannielynn Birkhead, 6, dolled herself up for the film in a grey chevron frock with blue and yellow accents, complete with a picture of her favorite smurfette on the centre.
And always eager to play a part in his daughter’s well being was father Larry Birkhead, who dressed to match in a grey, yellow and blue T-shirt and jeans.
Larry Birkhead was granted custody of the youngster after her mother Anna Nicole Smith passed away from a drug overdose in 2007.
Dannielynn Birkhead is reportedly set to inherit her mother’s fortune, which got a $49 million boost as part of oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall’s estate.
Dannielynn Birkhead and her father Larry attended the premiere for The Smurfs 2 in Los Angeles
Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall were married in 1994 when she was just 26, and he was 89.
J. Howard Marshall died a year later.
Meanwhile, Dannielynn Birkhead is growing up to be the spitting image of her mother, who was aged just 39 when she was found dead in a Florida hotel room.
Her father Larry Birkhead, who was forced to establish paternity in a suit against Anna Nicole Smith’s then partner and lawyer Howard K. Stern, seems to have done an excellent job raising his daughter by himself.
“I see her mom in everything she does,” Larry Birkhead told UsWeekly.
Dannielynn Birkhead recently appeared in an advertising campaign for Guess Kids.
Dannielynn Birkhead, the daughter of the late Anna Nicole Smith, may be finally entitled to some of the fortune left by her mother’s late husband, oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall, following a ten-year-long legal battle.
Although Dannielynn Birkhead was declared the sole heir to the estate back in 2008, The Supreme Court had ruled that Anna Nicole Smith’s estate was not entitled to any of J. Howard Marshall’s fortune.
On Thursday however, a Californian judge said that Dannielynn Birkhead, who is now 6-year-old, is entitled to sanctions against J. Howard Marshall’s family, reports TMZ.
Dannielynn Birkhead could now be entitled to up to $49 million of J. Howard Marshall’s fortune, which is estimated to be between $500 million and $1billion.
The judge made their decision based on allegations that attorneys working for J. Howard Marshall’s estate used unsavory tactics through litigation, including concealing crucial legal documents from Anna’s estate lawyers.
Anna Nicole Smith herself went to court after J. Howard Marshall’s death in 1995, claiming he promised to leave her $300 million, even though his will made no mention of her.
Dannielynn Birkhead may be finally entitled to some of the fortune left by Anna Nicole Smith’s late husband J. Howard Marshall
After Anna Nicole Smith died from a d**g overdose in 2007 aged 39, her lawyers argued that the money should go to Dannielynn Birkhead, who was fathered by one of her lovers, Larry Birkhead, 37.
But a federal court later ruled that J. Howard Marshall intended to leave his entire fortune to Pierce Marshall, his son by an earlier marriage.
Anna Nicole Smith married oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall in 1994 when she was just 26, and he was 89.
J. Howard Marshall died a year later.
Meanwhile, Dannielynn Birkhead is growing up to be the spitting image of her mother, who was aged just 39 when she was found dead in a Florida hotel room.
Her father, Larry Birkhead, who was forced to establish paternity in a suit against Anna Nicole Smith’s then partner and lawyer Howard K. Stern, seems to have done an excellent job raising his daughter by himself.
“I see her mom in everything she does,” Larry Birkhead told UsWeekly.
“We were at the Kentucky Derby and she started smiling and posing like her mom would. People ask me to put her in modelling, but I don’t want to push,” Larry Birkhead added.
