Howard K. Stern was just Anna Nicole Smith’s lawyer once upon a time.

The late model’s companion filed a creditor’s claim in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, requesting 6 percent of any money Smith’s estate recovers from that of her husband of 13 months, J. Howard Marshall II, whose estate was worth a reported $500 million when he died in 1995.

Stern, who was appointed executor of Smith’s will in June, cited a contingent fee (payment for services rendered) agreement on file in bankruptcy court that states he’s entitled to a portion of proceeds from the battle he helped Smith wage against Marshall’s family, which has contested Smith’s spousal inheritance since day one.

The 6 percent fee is “conditioned upon recovery in the Marshall litigation,” says state court documents obtained by celebtv.com.

When Smith died in February of an accidental drug overdose, her personal assets were totaled at about $710,000; but her daughter, 13-month-old Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead, figures to inherit millions if and when the Marshall matter is ever sorted out.

Smith declared bankruptcy in 2001 and was awarded $474 million due to misconduct on the Marshalls’ part; that judgment was later reduced to $88 million and then was overturned by a California appellate court. In May 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Smith could again pursue her claim in federal court.

Stern, meanwhile, also filed court papers last week in which he requested that Dannielynn be officially established as the sole heir to Smith’s fortune, stating that although Smith’s will was drawn up in 2001—five years before she had Dannielynn—she would have wanted her second child “to share equally in the trust created for Daniel.”

As it stands, the will names Daniel Smith, who died at 20 just days after his half-sister was born, as his mother’s sole beneficiary.

Larry Birkhead was appointed guardian of his former lover’s estate and has been said to be on good terms with Stern since it was determined he was Dannielynn’s biological father.

Very good terms, according to former MSNBC anchor Rita Cosby, who has authored an Anna Nicole exposé in which she claims Stern and Birkhead were lovers and in cahoots to get control of Smith’s estate and custody of Dannielynn.

Stern has since filed a $60 million defamation suit against Cosby, and Birkhead has also threatened legal action.

Meanwhile, a hearing scheduled for last Friday regarding items seized during a raid on the homes and offices of two of Smith’s doctors has been postponed until Dec. 5.

Psychiatrists Khristine Eroshevich and Sandeep Kapoor are under investigation in connection with prescriptions found at Smith’s home in the Bahamas and in her room at the Hollywood, Florida, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, where she died on Feb. 8.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler (late of the Phil Spector murder trial) ordered Deputy District Attorney Renee Rose and Kapoor’s attorney to arrange for copies to be made of various documents, including some patient records.

Those papers, as well as three computers seized from his home and office, will be returned to the doctor after they’ve been examined, Rose said.

Anna Nicole Smith’s lawyer and companion, Howard K. Stern, filed a $60 million libel lawsuit Tuesday against Rita Cosby and her publisher over a book she wrote that claims Stern and Smith’s ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, had a sexual encounter.

The suit, filed in federal court in New York, seeks $10 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages from Cosby, the former MSNBC host who wrote “Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith’s Death” — and Hachette Book Group USA Inc.

The book, which hit stores in September, claims that besides the alleged sexual encounter, Birkhead and Stern both worked together after Smith’s death to manipulate the media and maximize profits.

Smith died of an accidental drug overdose in Florida in February at age 39. Stern initially claimed to have fathered Smith’s young daughter, Dannielynn, but Birkhead eventually showed he was the father. The baby could inherit millions from the estate of Smith’s late husband, Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II.

Stern’s lawsuit says that the book falsely accuses Stern of, among other things, criminal lewd acts, homosexual acts, illegal possession and use of cocaine, conspiring to commit murder and kidnapping for ransom.

“Defendants have exploited Ms. Smith’s life and death by publishing false and defamatory factual accusations against” Stern, according to the 65-page lawsuit filed by Atlanta lawyer Lin Wood.

“Blonde Ambition purports to be a ‘tell-all’ book, but it can only be accurately described as a ‘tell-all-lies’ book,” Wood said in statement Tuesday.

A spokesman for Cosby declined to comment and referred calls to a spokesman for the book’s publisher. That spokesman, Evan Boorstyn, did not immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment.

Both Birkhead and Stern, Smith’s longtime attorney and companion, had threatened to sue soon after the book was published.
An attorney for Birkhead, M.L. Trope, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that “it’s just a matter of time” before his client files a libel suit of his own. He did not say when that would be filed.

Birkhead acknowledged meeting with Cosby several times after Smith’s death in February. But he flatly denied that he and Stern ever shared a sexual tryst.

Cosby, a former MSNBC correspondent, claimed there is a videotape of the alleged encounter and that one of Smith’s former employees had seen the former Playboy Playmate watching it. But Birkhead has said no tape could exist because the encounter did not occur.

Birkhead also has denied the book’s claim that he and Stern made a “secret deal” about finances and the custody of Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn.
Cosby has said she expected backlash from Birkhead and Stern when she started writing the book in April.

Larry Birkhead’s former attorney filed a lawsuit against him Tuesday, claiming he didn’t pay his legal bills during a paternity dispute involving his and Anna Nicole Smith’s baby.

Debra Opri wants to force binding arbitration under the terms of a contract in which she agreed to represent Birkhead in September, according to the lawsuit filed in Superior Court.

Opri said her work on Birkhead’s behalf was “extensive, entailed hundreds of hours of work” and required her to travel to multiple states and outside the country. The lawsuit did not specify a dollar amount.

After-hours phone messages left for Opri’s attorney, David Owen, and Birkhead’s lawyer, Michael Whalen, were not immediately returned.

Birkhead sued Anna Nicole Smith in October seeking a paternity test of her daughter, Dannielynn Hope, to determine who was the baby’s father.

Howard Stern, Smith’s attorney and longtime companion, had also claimed to be the father and was listed on the baby’s birth certificate.

A Los Angeles judge ruled in Birkhead’s favor in December but the DNA testing was not performed until months later. Smith died in Florida on Feb. 8 of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

After a highly publicized court dispute, paternity tests released last month showed Birkhead was the baby’s father.

Opri was Birkhead’s attorney during most of the dispute but later withdrew from the case without explaining why.

Larry and Dannielynn Birkhead have left the Bahamas and landed in Louisville, Kentucky where Birkhead was raised. This is the first time that Anna Nicole Smith’s baby has met her paternal grandparents.

Access Hollywood is reporting that the US media freenzy has already begun in Kentucky. As Larry and Dannielynn landed, two helicopters swarmed above while the media lined the airport’s chain link fence.

Tony Potts of Access Hollywood traveled with the Birkheads on their flight from the Bahamas to Kentucky and confirmed that they had a nice flight.

“She ate, slept, played and ate again,” Potts recounted. “She barely even fussed.”

Her also confirmed that Larry had a comfortable ride. Whew, we can all sleep again.

This is also the first time that Smith’s companion, Howard K. Stern, will be away from the baby who he once claimed to be his own.

Anna Nicole Smith’s mother is attempting to block her granddaughter’s return to the US.

The late Playboy playmate’s ex-lover, Larry Birkhead – the proven biological father of Dannielynn – was granted freedom to leave the Bahamas with his seven-month-old daughter by a Nassau court on Wednesday.

But Arthur has filed an appeal objecting to the judge’s ruling, an unusual decision as she lives in the US and had previously argued that her daughter and her grandson Daniel should be buried near her Texas home, and not in the Bahamas.

There will be a public court hearing regarding her appeal today.

Dannielynn has remained in the Bahamas under the care of Howard K. Stern – Anna Nicole’s lover and lawyer – since Anna Nicole died of an accidental drug overdose in Florida on February 8.

Birkhead said efforts were “in the works” to obtain a passport for Dannielynn and he hoped to travel to the US “pretty soon.”

The 34-year-old photographer – who had been locked in a custody battle with Arthur – has been ordered to return to the Nassau court for another formal custody hearing on June 9.

Larry Birkhead has defended Anna Nicole Smith’s lover Howard Stern.

The photographer, who was locked in a paternity battle with lawyer Stern for custody of the late Playboy model’s daughter Dannielynn, has revealed Stern has been a great help to him since he was revealed to be the biological father.

Larry said in an interview with America’s OK! magazine: “It seems unlikely, but he’s been a great help. He’s been with Dannielynn the last several months.”

“He knows her likes and dislikes and things that could help me. He gives me credit when I’m doing good things and gives me tips on things I should do a little different.”

“People blame him a lot, but Anna had her own mind too. She had a choice and we were arguing and that’s what happens. I’m thankful that everyone can get along for Dannielynn. How could you not?”

Stern was named as seven-month-old Dannielynn’s father on her birth certificate, and tried to evade DNA tests for several months.

As well as the custody battle for Dannielynn, Birkhead, Anna Nicole’s mother Virgie Arthur and Stern also fought for custody of the actress’ body.

She has finally been laid to rest in the Bahamas. Arthur is now solely fighting Birkhead, 34, for custody of her granddaughter.

He said: “It’s puzzling for her to display affection to me and then for the attorneys to say she’s going for custody and Larry was just a sperm donor and a one-night stand.”

“Then they all come and shake my hand. You’ve gotta scratch your head and say, ‘What’s going on here?’”

“I’m willing to listen to see what people want, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to agree. I hope I don’t have to fight for the baby.”

Birkhead is determined to raise Dannielynn alone after DNA tests proved he is her biological father.

However, Anna Nicole’s mother Virgie Arthur has indicated she may apply for custody, saying: “I’m glad to find out who the father is, I just want to be the grandmother. It’s not over, but it’s getting a lot better.”

Birkhead doesn’t want a custody battle and insists he will let Arthur visit whenever she wants.

He told the ‘Today’ show: “We might go from one fight to another, but I’m hoping that’s not the case because there’s only one dad, and I have no problem with anyone that has good intentions being allowed to visit the baby and be a part of the baby’s life.”

“It would imply that I’m unfit as a parent, which I’m not. I’m looking forward to giving Dannielynn everything that she needs and all the love and support.”

Howard K. Stern – who was named as Dannielynn’s father on her birth certificate – said he was “disappointed” by the DNA results but will support Birkhead in any custody battle.

Stern revealed: “I’m obviously very disappointed, but my feelings for Dannielynn have not changed. I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure Birkhead gets sole custody.”

A hearing to determine who will raise the seven-month-old baby will be held tomorrow (04.13.07).

Birkhead, who claims he was in a relationship with Anna Nicole until May 2006 when she was five months pregnant, has been seeking custody of Dannielynn for months.

Dannielynn could inherit an estimated $470 million fortune from the estate of Anna Nicole’s late oil tycoon husband J. Howard Marshall, depending on a forthcoming court ruling.

Anna Nicole had been fighting Marshall’s family for his estate since his death in 1995 and the battle is yet to be resolved.

The former Playboy model died on February 8, aged just 39, from an accidental drugs overdose.

Courtney Love is set to play Anna Nicole Smith in a new biopic.

The 42-year-old singer – the widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain – is being considered to portray the tragic Playboy model who died on February 8 from an accidental drugs overdose.

A film insider is quoted by Britain’s Daily Star newspaper as saying: “Courtney is flattered to be in the frame as she had a lot of respect for Anna. Courtney feels she can relate to her tragedy.”

“Owen Wilson is also being lined up to possibly play Anna Nicole’s former love Larry Birkhead.”

Another biographical film entitled “Anna Nicole” is set to start shooting next week.

This project will see 26-year-old singer and “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Willa Ford playing the blonde bombshell.

There are striking similarities between Ford – who calls herself the “bad girl of pop” and Anna Nicole. They both shot to fame modeling for fashion label Guess? and were named Playboy’s Playmate of the Year.

The film will chart Anna Nicole’s rollercoaster life from the age of 17, documenting her two marriages, her battle for her late husband J. Howard Marshall’s billions and her untimely death.

Anna Nicole died aged 39, just five months after giving birth to her daughter Dannielynn. Larry Birkhead was revealed as the father of the seven-month-old baby on Tuesday (April 10, 2007).

More than 600 pills — including about 450 muscle relaxants — were missing from prescriptions that were no more than five weeks old, according to information obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request.

It was unclear if Smith took all of them.

Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, a psychiatrist and friend of the starlet’s, authorized all the prescription medications in the Hollywood, Fla., hotel room where Smith was found unresponsive shortly before her death Feb. 8, the medical examiner’s office said. Eroshevich had traveled with Smith to Florida.

Calls to Eroshevich in Los Angeles were not immediately returned Wednesday. Candis Cohen, a spokeswoman for the California Medical Board, would not comment on any probe into Eroshevich; she said investigations of doctors are not public record.

Dr. Joshua Perper, Broward County’s medical examiner, said two other doctors also prescribed Smith drugs, but those medications were not found in her hotel room.

The type of drugs found in Smith’s system were disclosed with the release of her autopsy report last week, but the remarkable quantity of drugs she had was unclear until Wednesday’s release of additional records.

The powerful sleeping aid chloral hydrate, the medication blamed with tipping the balance in the toxic mix of drugs and causing her death, was prescribed Jan. 2. About two-thirds of the bottle was gone, according to the medical examiner’s records. The records also show 62 tablets of the anti-anxiety drug Valium were missing from a prescription less than two weeks old at the time of Smith’s death.

A probe by the Seminole Police Department agreed with Perper’s assessment that Smith’s death at 39 was an accidental overdose and that there was no foul play.

Most of the drugs were prescribed in the name of Howard K. Stern, her lawyer-turned-companion, and none were prescribed in Smith’s own name, according to documents. Perper has said all the drugs were meant for Smith.

Information released by Perper’s office shows eight of the prescriptions were issued under Stern’s name; one under Eroshevich’s name; and two were under the name of Alex Katz. It was unclear if Katz was an alias or the name of someone connected to Smith.

The records show Smith had three prescriptions for muscle relaxants in her hotel room: two for carisoprodol, prescribed Jan. 2 and Jan. 26, and one for methocarbamol, under the brand name Robaxin, prescribed Jan. 2. Some 415 of the carisoprodol pills were missing from their containers as well as 33 of the Robaxin pills, according to the documents.

Also missing were 79 tablets of the anti-seizure medications Topomax and Klonopin; and at least two dozen diuretics, antibiotics, antivirals and potassium supplements.

The newly disclosed documents did not mention the strong painkiller methadone or the anti-anxiety pill Ativan, both of which were found in Smith’s system. Also missing from the report was disclosure on who prescribed human growth hormone, the muscle-building, weight-reducing agent Smith was said to have been taking around the time of her death.

Two attorneys for Stern did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Smith had a stomach flu and a temperature that rose as high as 105 degrees in the days before her death, and she had an infection on her buttocks from repeated injections. Both the flu and the infection were considered contributing causes of her death, according to the autopsy report.

Smith, a Texas high school dropout who became a topless dancer, married 89-year-old oilman J. Howard Marshall II. After his death, she took her fight for Marshall’s estimated $500 million fortune as far as the Supreme Court. That ongoing battle could make her infant daughter, Dannielynn, very wealthy. Stern and two other men have claimed to be the baby’s father.

While the world waits with bated breath—not to mention big bucks riding on office pools—the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter is about to be revealed.

Though whether that revelation comes next week or—implausibly but, in this saga, not impossibly—next month is anyone’s guess. We just know for sure it’s not happening today.

A closed-door hearing in the drawn-out paternity battle between Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead concluded today in the Supreme Court of the Bahamas without any bombshells. Another hearing was set for next week.

But while signs indicate that the results of court-ordered DNA tests may soon be revealed, none of the principal players in drama is talking.

Primarily, because they can’t.

According to Bahamian legal code, lawyers, officials, and anyone who was lucky enough to snag a seat in one of the most closely watched courts in recent memory is prohibited from discussing any details of the case, even down to what’s on the day’s agenda.

Which is why, from here on out, it’s simply a waiting game to find out the results of the DNA swabs.

Anticipation for a major ruling was running high going into this morning’s hearing, especially after Stern on Monday dropped a last-ditch motion trying to block the baby’s results from being released.

Smith’s lawyer/companion was fined $10,000, and the hearings were scheduled to resume. With no more appeals pending, the court could render its judgment at any time and determine whether Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern will be adding Birkhead to her list of monikers.

Stern, who has been caring for the child since Smith’s Feb. 8 death, took the child in for a cheek swabbing on Mar. 21. However, when the results do come in, they will not necessarily prove that Stern is the father—they will simply prove whether or not Birkhead is.

Dannielynn’s DNA will only be tested against the photographer’s, as well as that of less likely paternal candidate Prince Frederic Von Anhalt. Stern was never ordered to give a sample because he is already listed as the father on the girl’s Bahamian birth certificate.

As for the tests themselves, they were reportedly sent out to the DNA Diagnostics Center in Fairfield, Ohio, under the auspices of one Dr. Michael Baird. He is expected to present the results in court, perhaps during next Tuesday’s session, though he has remained mum on any immediate travel plans.

At least one involved party, however, doesn’t appear too worried about the technicality of DNA results.

Last month, and virtually every month prior, Birkhead has spoken out about his certainty over his fatherhood, going so far as to announce that he is already getting a nursery ready in his Los Angeles home.

The murky circumstances surrounding Anna Nicole Smith’s death could become clearer Monday, when authorities are expected to release the results of the former pinup’s autopsy.

The anticipated disclosure of what killed Smith comes more than six weeks after she was found unresponsive at her hotel suite in Hollywood, Fla.

The autopsy results had been expected weeks ago but have been repeatedly delayed, in part because the Broward County medical examiner, Dr. Joshua Perper, said he received additional evidence from the Seminole Police Department. The department is investigating the starlet’s death because the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino where she was staying is located on tribal land.

Authorities would not disclose what the additional evidence was.

Perper’s initial autopsy report was released a day after Smith’s death, but he said an extensive battery of tests was being performed to search for all manner of causes.

Perper’s initial tests found no evidence, either in Smith’s stomach or her bloodstream, that she had taken large amounts of prescription medication. The medical examiner said prescription drugs, but no illegal drugs, were found in Smith’s hotel room. He would not identify the drugs.

The initial examination did find signs of inflammation in Smith’s heart. Perper said it was “something which looks a little bit unusual” but that it may be nothing.

Because Smith’s death was so sudden and because her 20-year-old son Daniel died under suspicious circumstances five months earlier, there has been speculation of possible criminal activity. The Seminoles will not comment on their investigation, although they initially said there was no indication Smith was the victim of a crime.

Smith arrived at the Hard Rock on Feb. 5 and planned to leave four days later aboard a new yacht her companion Howard K. Stern was arranging to buy. She was said to be suffering from a stomach flu before she was found dead Feb. 8.

Smith was a former Playboy Playmate of the Year, Guess jeans model and bride of 89-year-old oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II.

Stern and two other men have claimed they are the father of her baby, Dannielynn.

The father of Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter will be revealed soon.

A DNA test to determine five-month-old Dannielynn’s father was ordered by the Bahamas Supreme Court yesterday (Mar 20, 2007).

Anna Nicole’s former lover photographer Larry Birkhead, who claims he is Dannielynn’s father, was overjoyed by the ruling.

Birkhead, who pumped his fists in the air and jumped up and down as he emerged from court, said: “I feel great. It was a great day in court for me. Bahamian people, thank you so much!”

Asked if he thought he would see Dannielynn soon, he smiled and winked.

Anna Nicole’s lover and lawyer Howard K. Stern – who is listed as Dannielynn’s father on her birth certificate – was left devastated by the judge’s decision. He said: “I’m doing the best I can.”

Stern, who is currently caring for Dannielynn, was ordered not to leave the Bahamas with her before the custody ruling.

Frederic von Anhalt, the husband of legendary Hollywood beauty Zsa Zsa Gabor, also claims he could be Dannielynn’s father.

Dannielynn has been at the center of a paternity battle since her mother collapsed in a Florida hotel room and died aged just 39 last month.

She could inherit millions from the estate of Anna Nicole’s late husband, oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall.

Anna Nicole had been fighting his family for his estimated $500 million fortune since he died in 1995.

A lawyer for one of three men claiming to be the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby girl, Dannielynn, asked a judge Tuesday to order late Playboy model’s partner, Howard K. Stern, to come to California and provide a DNA sample.

Attorney Debra Opri, who represents Smith’s former boyfriend Larry Birkhead, said after a closed hearing that she wants the DNA to determine if Stern is the baby’s father. His name is on the little girl’s birth certificate.

“Put up or shut up, that’s what we’re asking for,” Opri said outside court.

Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider refused to make Stern a part of the paternity court action but said he would review the matter in two weeks after he considers the law more closely, Opri said.

Stern was living with Smith at the time of her death. He and the baby, Dannielynn, currently reside in the Bahamas.

Opri said Birkhead needs a paternity ruling from California to present in the Bahamas to strengthen his case for claiming paternity of the child.

“Without it, we have a weak argument,” she said.

Ron Rale, a lawyer who had represented Smith, argued against the DNA request, saying Stern’s name is already on the birth certificate as the father.

“Howard Stern doesn’t have to go to Larry Birkhead for anything,” Rale said.

Schnider originally asserted jurisdiction in the paternity suit in California because Smith had connections in Los Angeles and Birkhead claimed the baby was conceived in California.

Smith, 39, died of unknown causes Feb. 8 after collapsing at a Florida hotel.

A court in the Bahamas is currently dealing with custody issues involving the child. A judge has barred Stern from taking the girl out of that country until a custody ruling is made.

Birkhead attended the hearing in Los Angeles and said he was confident he would be declared the father.

“I’ve been putting a nursery together so I’m smiling. I’m in a good mood,” Birkhead said outside court.

Meeting the child in the Bahamas, where Smith was buried, “was one of the greatest things in my life,” he said. “That was my delivery room just to get to meet her.”

Frederic von Anhalt, the husband of actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, also says he may be the father.

Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26. The reality TV star and Playboy playmate had been fighting his family over his estimated $500 million fortune since his death in 1995.

Pamela Anderson has sent a message of support to
Britney Spears.

The former ‘Baywatch’ actress has been upset by the troubled singer’s recent erratic behaviour and hopes she can get well soon for the sake of herself and her two sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James.

Pammie said: “When you are scrutinised in public and judged by people who have no idea what is going on, it can be devastating. I wish her well and I am sure she will overcome this. People need to be more supportive.”

The blonde star was also saddened by the recent death of Anna Nicole Smith, who, like Pammie, was one of Playboy magazine’s most iconic cover girls.

She said: “It’s so sad, she left behind that little baby girl, Dannielynn. I wish she could have been strong enough to make it through.”

Even before her death last month, Smith was a case study for students of estate law. Her lengthy, widely publicized court feud with the family of her late husband, Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, over his estate landed them in at least one widely used textbook, “Wills, Trusts and Estates.”

Now, because of a poorly drafted will and the courtroom fights over her burial and custody of her infant daughter, law professors are finding her troubles can again serve as an example to students.

Professors say that over the past month they have answered questions about court proceedings in the case or have used Smith to illustrate an issue in class. Some have even distributed and discussed copies of her will.

“The students were asking right away — ‘When are we going to talk about Anna Nicole Smith?’” said Susan French, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. She assigned Smith’s will as reading material and discussed it in class.

French and other professors said Smith’s case brings up good points for discussion and touches on issues covered by their classes.

For example, what happens if children are born after a will is written, as Smith’s infant daughter was? What happens if a beneficiary dies before the will’s creator, as Smith’s son did?

One clause, in which Smith appears to disinherit future spouses and children, is particularly intriguing for law classes. It’s something a man would write if he might have illegitimate children, professors said. Why would it be in Smith’s will? Was she an egg donor? Did she give a baby up for adoption? Or, was it just language carelessly copied from a template?

Smith’s will also illustrates one common flaw, that many wills don’t include a contingency plan, said Stephen Urice, a professor of trusts and estates at the University of Miami.

Urice’s students also read Smith’s will and discussed its flaws in class.

“It was enormously helpful,” student Lou Mandarini of the classroom critiquing of Smith’s will.

Unlike Smith’s case, fresh from the headlines, most classroom examples seem divorced from daily events, said Sean Carney, a law student at the University of California, Davis.

“Even though the cases we read about come from the real world they come bound in a big fat book,” Carney said.

Two professors who expect to confront Smith’s case again are New York University’s Robert Sitkoff and Northwestern University’s James Lindgren, editors of “Wills, Trusts and Estates,” in which Smith previously served as an example.

Sitkoff is teaching the subject at Harvard this semester, and received e-mails from students asking questions about Smith even before he brought her up in class. Lindgren was surprised when a class of international students also expressed interest.

Smith will likely remain in their book’s next edition, both said, partly because students enjoy cases with recognizable participants.

“There can be contracts cases with Elvis. It does make it easier to teach,” Lindgren said.

A private plane carrying Anna Nicole Smith’s body arrived Friday in the Bahamas, where the pinup model will be laid to rest after weeks of legal wrangling over the burial site.

Jim Joseffy, managing director of IBC Airways, which operated the flight, confirmed the plane landed around 8:05 a.m. EST.

The flight left Florida with her casket after authorities escorted a black hearse to Miami International Airport, as news helicopters tracked the procession from the medical examiner’s office in Fort Lauderdale.

But the funeral might not bring an end to the saga: her estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, will likely try to get the body out of the Bahamas, said her lawyer, Tom Pirtle. He would not elaborate about possible legal action.

“We are not exactly sure what shape it is going to be,” Pirtle said Thursday in a telephone interview, just hours after saying Arthur had decided to drop her legal challenges in Florida courts.

The funeral is to take place later Friday at the Mount Horeb Baptist Church in Nassau, and she is to be buried at the Lakeview Memorial Gardens, said Richard Milstein, the court-appointed advocate for Smith’s 5-month-old daughter Dannielynn. A judge gave him control of the starlet’s remains.

Both services are closed to the public, Milstein said in a statement issued Thursday by a public relations firm. He didn’t return phone messages left at his office and on his cell phone seeking additional comment.

Smith’s Feb. 8 death in a hotel room at age 39 set off legal disputes in California, Florida and the Bahamas. Her boyfriend, mother and an ex-boyfriend have argued over who should get the body and who should take custody of Dannielynn, who could inherit millions of dollars.

Dr. Joshua Perper, the Broward medical examiner, said he will announce Smith’s cause of death next week.

“This was a complex case,” Perper said. “It was an unusual case from a medical point of view.”

Smith will be buried in a tiara and custom-made, beaded gown next to her 20-year-old son Daniel following an “over the top” memorial service, said a friend helping to organize the memorial.

The service, with about 300 guests, will feature large amounts of pink flowers, her favorite color, and music by a well-known singer whose name organizers were not ready to disclose, said the friend, Patrik Simpson of Beverly Hills, Calif.

“It will be a very beautiful, Anna Nicole send-off,” Simpson said Wednesday night in the Bahamian capital of Nassau. “Of course it will be over the top because it’s Anna Nicole.”

The burial at Lakeview Memorial Gardens will be much more intimate, with about 30 people, he said. Arthur, boyfriend Howard K. Stern and ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead will temporarily put aside their differences to attend the services.

Ron Rale, an attorney for Stern, would not disclose any funeral information.

“We want her to have a beautiful funeral, something she would have wanted,” Rale said by telephone from the Bahamas.

Arthur had wanted to bury Smith in her native Texas, and fought last week’s ruling from Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin that gave control of the body to Milstein.

But Stern insisted the former Playboy Playmate wanted to be buried next to Daniel, who died of apparent drug-related causes last year. Milstein agreed.

On Wednesday, a Florida appeals court upheld Seidlin’s ruling. Perper said after the appeals court ruling that he was not sure if Smith’s body would be suitable for a viewing. He had told Seidlin during the hearing that she was decomposing.

Perper said embalmers would have to take another look at the body. Stern, Arthur and others have already viewed the body at Perper’s office.

Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26. The reality TV star and Playboy Playmate had been fighting his family over his estimated $500 million fortune since his death in 1995.

Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeals has denied the appeal of Smith’s mother, Virgie Arthur, to take custody of her estranged daughter’s remains.

According to E! Magazine, the decision clears the way for a Bahamian burial for Smith, scheduled to take place Friday at 10:30 a.m. In its written opinion, the panel declared that being buried next to her son Daniel in a Nassau cemetery was Smith’s “last ascertainable wish.”

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that Smith will be buried in a custom-made gown alongside her 20-year-old son, following an “over the top” memorial service with a tightly controlled guest list.

Roughly 300 guests will gather at an undisclosed church, filled with an assortment of pink flowers (Anna’s favorite color). A well-known performer is also set to perform, said Patrik Simpson, a friend helping to organize the service.

“It will be a very beautiful Anna Nicole send-off,” Simpson told the AP. “Of course it will be over the top because it’s Anna Nicole.”

Since Smith’s death at the age of 39 last month, a battle over her burial and custody of her daughter, Dannielynn, has been waged among her partner, Howard K. Stern, her mother, Virgie Arthur, and ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead.

Dispute over the paternity and custody issues of Anna Nicole Smith’s 5-month-old-daughter, Dannielynn, shifted to the Bahamas Monday.

A hearing was scheduled before Supreme Court Justice Stephen Isaacs, who may consider whether to consolidate the paternity and custody-related matters regarding Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, the Bahamas Journal said.

Lawyers for Smith’s companion, Howard K. Stern, Smith’s ex-lover Larry Birkhead, and her estranged mother, Virgie Arthur all seek custody of the child, who was born in the Bahamas and currently lives there.

Stern and Birkhead both claim paternity, as do two other men.

Desmar Whitfield-Henfield, one of Arthur’s Bahamian lawyers, said Arthur wanted to “secure the safe custody and guardianship of Dannielynn. So ultimately she intends to be the sole guardian — she is not interested in joint custody.”

A Broward County, Fla., judge Thursday ruled that the Smith’s body would go to her daughter for purposes of burial. The daughter’s court-appointed guardian decided that Smith, who died Feb. 8, would be buried in the Bahamas beside her son, Daniel, who died in September. Arthur’s attorneys filed for a stay to block the burial in the Bahamas.

A Florida judge expressed doubt today that he had jurisdiction to get involved in the paternity dispute over Anna Nicole Smith’s baby daughter, a day after the starlet’s remains were ordered buried in the Bahamas next to those of her son.

Smith’s boyfriend Howard K. Stern is listed on five-month-old Dannielynn’s birth certificate as her father, but two other men claim paternity. Los Angeles-based photographer Larry Birkhead originally requested DNA testing in California but then asked that his case be moved to Florida, where Smith died two weeks ago.

Circuit Judge Lawrence Korda seemed at a loss as to how the case had landed in his court.

“I’m trying to figure out what jurisdiction there could possibly be here. … I’m not even sure California’s got jurisdiction,” Korda said. Dannielynn is now being cared for by a nanny at Smith’s home in Nassau, the Bahamas.

“This child is in the Bahamas. The jurisdiction is in the Bahamas,” he said, but added that he would examine the issue further before giving a ruling “soon.”

The developments were the latest in the saga surrounding the 39-year-old former Playboy Playmate’s death at a Florida hotel of still-undetermined causes. On Thursday, another judge let Dannielynn’s court-appointed attorney decide where to bury Smith. His decision to bury her alongside her son in the Bahamas did not please everyone, and her estranged mother planned to challenge it Friday.

Yesterday, a sometimes blubbering Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin gave Richard Milstein, the court-appointed lawyer for Dannielynn, the power to resolve a dispute between Stern and Virgie Arthur, Smith’s estranged mother, over where to bury Smith.

For all Anna Nicole Fans, here is a video of Anna Nicole’s Assistant Kimmie speaking about her loss on YouTube.

Court Judge Larry Seidlin became choked up and teary-eyed while issuing his decision today in the court dispute over where Anna Nicole Smith’s body should be buried and what should become of her daughter Dannielynn.

Anna Nicole’s mother, Virgie Arthur, and Smith’s ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead and companion Howard K. Stern have spent the last three days embroiled in debate in a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, court room, and all three burst into tears upon hearing the ruling. Judge Seidlin ultimately left the decision of Smith’s burial to attorney Richard Milstein, who is the appointed guardian of Smith’s 5-month-old daughter Dannielynn.

However, he told the court that he hopes the former Playboy Playmate will be buried in the Bahamas next to her son Daniel, who died last September. “I want them to be together,” the judge told the court.

Milstein, who specializes in guardianship, probate and mediation, will work with all three parties to determine the final resting place of Anna Nicole, on behalf of her next of kin survivor, Dannielynn.

Smith died two weeks ago at age 39 in a South Florida hospital after being found unconscious in her hotel room. The cause of death remains under investigation.