The Child Custody Case from Hell
I realize that most people have probably heard that Anna Nicole Smith just died, but I have to wonder what is to become of her five-month-old daughter who has now lost a brother and a mother. I can only imagine the child custody battle that is about to begin over this poor child. Who is the real father and will he get custody?
Update: What is amazing is how cruel some of the commenters were on the MSNBC.com site (the comments seem to be down or gone?) in response to the sad news that Anna Nicole had passed away. Did anyone see the live video at MSNBC.com where the sound technicians were joking and saying,"Anna Nicole, making our living from Anna Nicole" or some such nonsense. Good grief, doesn't anyone tell these guys that they are on live video?
Update II: It is amazing that even duped dads are held responsible for child support for children who are not even their own. Yet, Larry Birkheard, the man who is fighting for his right to a paternity test for Dannielynn cannot even get an expedited DNA test and Anna Nicole's lawyer has the audacity to be outraged by the request:
The only thing here that is despicable is that Larry Birkheard is being denied his request to determine if he is this child's father or not. If he is not, what does the opposition have to lose?
Update: What is amazing is how cruel some of the commenters were on the MSNBC.com site (the comments seem to be down or gone?) in response to the sad news that Anna Nicole had passed away. Did anyone see the live video at MSNBC.com where the sound technicians were joking and saying,"Anna Nicole, making our living from Anna Nicole" or some such nonsense. Good grief, doesn't anyone tell these guys that they are on live video?
Update II: It is amazing that even duped dads are held responsible for child support for children who are not even their own. Yet, Larry Birkheard, the man who is fighting for his right to a paternity test for Dannielynn cannot even get an expedited DNA test and Anna Nicole's lawyer has the audacity to be outraged by the request:
"I think it is despicable," Rale said of the new motion for Smith's DNA. "We don't think it is necessary. You don't need Anna's DNA to find out if Mr. Birkheard is the father or not ... Howard [K.] Stern is the presumed father."
The only thing here that is despicable is that Larry Birkheard is being denied his request to determine if he is this child's father or not. If he is not, what does the opposition have to lose?
posted by Helen at 4:18 PM
31 Comments:
How does that song go? 'What a shooting star. How right you are.'
I wonder who will be granted temporary custody while the two men claiming to be the baby's father battle it out in court.
Assuming that takes a couple of years, will the baby be taken from whoever cares for her in the meantime when the court issues a ruling?
I am guessing the poor kid has little chance of a normal childhood, though I'd be happy to be proven wrong.
Retread
Her life was a running joke. Why not her death?
I guess we have entered an age where gold-digging males try to knock up wealthy women to get their hands on part of the fortune. Perhaps it represents progress of a sort.
Poor kid, I fear she will want for nothing save love.
It's funny, when a child is born and there is a question about paternity many men pray that the child is not theirs. But this child may come with a millions of dollars in bonus money. The fight for paternity rights was already in full swing when the mother was alive, I shudder to think about what is going to happen now. Hopefully the victor in this mess will fade from publicity and go quietly to raise his daughter.
Funny, that's the first thing I thought of when I read the story. I haven't kept up with any of the Anna Nichole circus, so I didn't know until I read it today.
The whole story is very sad.
By most accounts, like this one, the woman was an unrepentant drug addict and serial user of people for her entire adult life. It's not certain whether her daughter would have been better off being raised by such a person. There are better people to pity, in my opinion.
It's been a tossup for me what's been funnier on the various news and gossip sites--the abuse or the legions of moralizers wagging their fingers as they "compassionately" seek to profit from this messed-up woman's death by making other people feel bad.
Nothing against your husband, Dr., but this is a perfect example of why people make jokes about sharks and lawyers. In this day of genetic analysis, it should take about 2 days of real work to determine which, if either, of the two claimants is the child's father. That it has taken this long, and appears to be settling in for the long haul, is testimony to legal skill coupled with no morals.
What this story teaches me is that paperwork is essential in family relationships, especially with regards to finances and estates.
Smith was involved in a huge battle with her late husband's family because she had a verbal agreement with Marshall. Nothing on paper.
Then, she allegedly married Stern. Again, no legal paperwork to prove it. Therefore, regardless of whether he's the baby's father, any inheritance from her is in question.
I'm glad my will (and my hubby's) is up-to-date.
people forget someone died, ok you may think she is a gold digger, or whatever, but a person died, wheres the humanity, the compassion for her family.
is compassion a myth, that it doesnt count if its someone like her.
is it a case of if she is a user she deserves to die. so what if she married an older man, i bet he was happy in his last years. so what if she got some money from it, he had a lot.. but that doesnt reduce the fact that she is dead.
be a little compassionate, and a little caring
Anna's death is sad but not surprising, especially considering the death of her son a few months ago.
Her daughter probably has a better chance at a normal life now than before, sad but true.
a psychiatrist who learned from veterans - Love that song, Shooting Star" by Bad Company. The name of the group adds some irony. It seems Anna had too much bad company.
The "Shooting Star, how right you are" reference is from "Instant Karma," by John Lennon.
Regards,
Guy Approaching Middle Age
Howard Stern should be in jail if there were illegal drugs found in that hotel room and he was there when she died. He should have been thoroughly investigated after the boy died when Stern allegedly picked him up at the hospital.
That baby should be in FLorida DCF care. If Stern has her right now, she is as good as dead. He's not a family man, and can't take care of people. Let him fight for the money; the baby is the most valuable thing now. I hope the CA man is the father and gets immediate custody. And investigate Stern on how the boy and his mom got all those drugs on their own.
when Stern allegedly picked him up at the "airport" and brought him to the hospital. Who provided the methadone?
What I find very interesting is that according to this family lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan, quoted by MSNBC,"if he (Stern the acting father) is not the bio dad he has no rights to custody". So apparently in paternitiy fraud cases the doctrine of "once a father always a father" applies, as long as there is a woman that can claim child support payments but if there is no woman involved then it is the biological father who gets the kid...
Hello? Did Kafka write the US laws regarding paternity?
No rigths just obligations that is what victims of paternity fraud get?
I wonder why men thought AnnA Nichole Smith was beautiful or "hot"? She was big, unathletic, had huge unshapely legs, was knock-kneed, fake teeth, fake boobs. Plus wasnt exactly the sharpest tack either.
I have always wondered how anyone with her physical attributes even got to be a model in the first place to begin with.
i cried...
a little = ).
Shucks, wrong shooting star. The Bad Company version seems quite appropriate in this case.
I've read some snarky comments about this woman's death on conservative blogs as well . . . its not just MSNBC who has exhibited classless behaviour.
As for the little girl, thank goodness we have DNA testing these days.
If [Larry Birkheard] is not [the father], what does the opposition have to lose?"
That's not really the point, I think. The controversy here is to see which man, Stern or Birkheard, gets to claim custody of the baby girl's $400 million inheritance (just as soon as the lawsuits with the Marshall family are worked out). No paternity, no money.
god make bees
bees make honey
god make man
man make money.
My money's on ZsaZsa Gabor's husband as the stud.
And lock up that Stern character if he got them the drugs.
"Nothing against your husband, Dr., but this is a perfect example of why people make jokes about sharks and lawyers."
Good lawyers don't pull that crap. Then their clients tell everyone their lawyer sucks because they don't play dirty like the other guy's attorney.
So the good ones move out of family law entirely, leaving it to the sharks. Maybe they even stop lawyering and become professors.
Meanwhile the Bar complains that oor people can't get legal help with their family law problems.
My understanding is that Anna Nicole Smith's attorney was not objecting to the DNA testing of the daughter in regards to paternity but the authorization to hold Ms. Smith's body so maternity testing could be completed. The quote in Update II has nothing to do whether or not the DNA test for Mr. Birkheard is expedited.
From MSNBC, direct quoting
The DNA is needed to connect Smith with Dannielynn “so that no one can switch the babies,” Opri said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17063518/
I firmly believe that the paternity needs to be established because this child needs someone. In fact, paternity needs to be established as quickly as possible in any contested paternity case because one never knows when something tragic will happen.
The problem now is we have three men who all claim to be this child's father. Now, we have to test them all and hope for the best which is one of them actually is the father. Unfortunately this whole series of events is going to be tied up in court for years and possibly decades to come.
Donna,
That's interesting information you cite about the purpose of the test. It makes sense to me.
Here's an interpretation I heard that for me takes the cake. One of my co-workers, female, Scorpio, remarked that the lady had probably committed suicide because she didn't want to be around when her son turned out to be the father. I think law enforcement work is poisoning her soul. That is about as unsentimental as it gets.
Donna,
Thanks for the updated MSNBC article. In the first one, it only stated that a DNA test of ANS was being denied. In many paternity tests, the mother's DNA is also tested although, the paternity can be determined accurately without it.
Access Hollywood has been running footage. At one point, the asked "who profits from her death." Well clearly, Access Hollywood profits.
They're going to be running "home movies" of Annie Nicole with her daughter on Monday evening.
The promos they ran showed a beautiful 5-month old. They say that in the beginning infants resemble their fathers. It's a way for a father to identify the child as his own. This child is so pretty, I say it's Larry's kid.
It does make you wonder about Howard Stern. Did a lawyer, who may have been truly besotted with his client, agree to try and shield the child's paternity so that his client could avoid a custody arrangement and perhaps child support?
In many paternity tests, the mother's DNA is also tested although, the paternity can be determined accurately without it.
Here, they want to make certain it is ANS's child, and that nobody switched the babies (STern) just to get at the money. I hope he goes next; what a waste of life feeding the boy and his mom drugs, and don't tell me he didn't know.
I wonder if this case will be in front of a judge who uses psychologists? I cannot imagine the data from the various cast of characters. I would love to see the MMPIs and Rorschachs from this bunch.
Trey
Trey,
Do you really, what a job! I wouldn't want it.
If only we removed the words Moral and Compassion, we may be able to behave in an an appropriate manner than condescending, be it Anna, her children or other events that offend the sensibilities of at least some of us.
My guess is Larry Birkhead is the real father. The baby girl looks very similar to him. My dad said a mean joke about Anna: perhaps they will stop talking about her now.
Jim said: "One of my co-workers, female, Scorpio, remarked that the lady had probably committed suicide because she didn't want to be around when her son turned out to be the father."
I must be sick too, because I had a similar thought.
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