U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Anna Nicole Smith Estate Case
The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal from the estate of Anna Nicole Smith in the latest dispute over the late celebrity’s inheritance from Texas billionaire Howard Marshall, who died in 1994 at the age of 89. Smith was then 26, and they had been married for 14 months.
Smith and Marshall’s adult son, Pierce Marshall, were in litigation over the inheritance for over a decade. Pierce Marshall died in 2006 and Smith died in 2007. Heirs of both estates continue to wrangle over Howard Marshall’s estate, which is worth over $1.6 billion. Smith has one legal heir, a three-year-old daughter.
Howard Marshall did not leave anything to Smith in his will or a trust. She claimed it was because of undue influence from his son, Pierce, and testified that Howard had promised her a share of his assets earned during their marriage. Results from ensuing court battles include:
• A Texas probate court denied Smith any money from the estate;
• A U.S. bankruptcy court awarded Smith $474 million;
• A federal appeals court in California dismissed the $474 million award;
• The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Federal Appeals Panel in California to reconsider its ruling in 2006;
• The California federal appeals court ruled in March this year that Smith’s estate was not entitled to the $300 million it claimed was intended as a gift from Marshall.
