The Bunny and the Billionaire
In yet another development in the sensational saga spanning 15 years, a court of appeals recently ruled that none of J. Howard Marshall’s billions will go to the estate of his late-in-life bride, Anna Nicole Smith.
The former Playboy model challenged her late husband’s will in a Houston probate court alleging that his son, E. Pierce Marshall, had illegally coerced his father to exclude her. She claimed that Howard had promised to leave her more than $300 million.
The court found, though, that Howard was mentally fit and under no undue pressure when he wrote the will that left nothing to Anna Nicole.
The two met in a strip club and were married in 1994, Howard at the age of 89 and Anna Nicole, 26. Howard died a mere 14 months later and in his will left nearly all of his $1.6 billion estate to Pierce.
Since the legal battle began, both Pierce and Anna Nicole have died leaving their respective estates to duke it out in court. Pierce is succeeded in the litigation by his heirs, a wife and two sons, and Smith left a daughter, now 3, fathered by an ex-boyfriend.
The case has already bounced around both state and federal courts in bankruptcy and probate, and has been through numerous appeals, even getting a day in the U.S. Supreme Court on a question of jurisdiction.
Unsatisfied, though, Anna Nicole’s probate lawyer is already planning to appeal the latest ruling.
James D. Perry
Tags: Celebrities, Court News, elder abuse scams, Probate, wills
