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MIAMI - Anna Nicole Smith's estranged mother has asked a Florida appeals court to overturn last week's court ruling that would allow the burial of the former Playboy Playmate in the Bahamas.
A lawyer for Virgie Arthur filed an emergency petition with the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach to stop a court-appointed guardian for Smith's 5-month-old daughter from taking Smith's remains to the islands, where Smith lived in the final months of her life.
Arthur wants Smith buried in her native Texas.
"It is an emergency because once that body is moved, that's it," said Arthur's attorney, Roberta Mandel. "Even if the court were to decide to hear it at that point, there's no body."
The appeal seeks to overturn a ruling issued by Broward County Judge Larry Seidlin last week following an emotional week-long hearing to determine who had the right to bury the former topless dancer and billionaire's widow. Smith's sudden death on February 8 at a Florida casino hotel touched off a legal firestorm over the body and custody of her baby, Dannielynn.
Seidlin ruled that Smith's daughter was her legal next-of-kin and ordered her remains turned over to Miami lawyer Richard Milstein, who was appointed as Dannielynn's guardian to protect the rights of the baby during legal proceedings.
Milstein said he was arranging to bury Smith beside her son Daniel, who died last year, in the Bahamas.
A hearing was scheduled for today in the Bahamas on a claim by Smith's former boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, who says he is the baby's biological father. Smith's longtime lawyer and companion, Howard K. Stern, is listed as the child's father on her birth certificate.
Smith's estate could ultimately be worth millions if it wins a legal battle over the estate of her late husband, billionaire J. Howard Marshall.
- REUTERS
