Judge rules Dannielynn is Anna Nicole’s sole heir

Anna Nicole Smith’s baby daughter Dannielynn will inherit her late mother’s estate.  Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff on Tuesday made 18-month-old Dannielynn Hope (who is recovering from eye surgery here) the sole heir, and also set up a trust in the girl’s name.

Her father, Larry Birkhead, and Smith’s lawyer and lover Harry K. Stern, will be co-trustees. Stern, filed the petition to clarify Smith’s intentions toward her daughter. Smith drafted the will in 2001 that left her estate to her then only child, Daniel. However, it said the assets in Daniel’s trust should be shared equally if she had future children. Daniel was 20 when he died in 2006, three days after Dannielynn was born.

“We and Mr. Stern always believed that Anna Nicole never intended to disinherit her daughter,” Stern’s lawyer, Bruce S. Ross, said after the hearing. “I’m pleased to say this chapter in the saga is closed.”

While Dannielynn becomes the sole benefactor, her mother’s estate itself is still under contention. Smith’s wealthy second husband, J. Howard Marshall, left much of his fortune (millions of dollars) to the model, but his relatives have been fighting the will for years.

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