http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/smiths-daughter-may-not-be-million-dollar-baby/2007/02/15/1171405354380.html
Smith's daughter may not be million dollar baby
Men are lining up to claim they are the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby. But they could be mistaken if they think paternity will automatically mean a pot of gold.
Instead, they could be stepping into a monumentally complex, multinational legal fight over the child. Moreover, it is not at all clear whether the little girl is a million-dollar baby, as some seem to think.
For all anyone knows, the voluptuous former centrefold, who died at age 39 last week under mysterious circumstances, may have set up a trust or employed some other means of keeping the father of her baby from getting his hands on her fortune.
Wayne Munroe, a lawyer representing Smith's estate in the Bahamas, hinted at just that, suggesting there may be provisions in her will that could undermine any great expectations among potential fathers.
"They may think that you get a finding and a court order and you get to live on the child's money," said Munroe, who has access to Smith's will. "But they are in for a rude awakening."
"They're going to find out this woman was much smarter than they thought," he said. "They will only have the responsibility for maintaining this child."
The question of how much money the child might stand to inherit remains murky. Smith was involved in a decade-long legal battle over the estate of her late husband, oil tycoon J Howard Marshall II.
Smith initially won a $US474 million ($A605.71 million) judgment, but it was thrown out on appeal. However, the US Supreme Court said the former Playboy centrefold deserves another day in court. The case is still pending.
Smith also made money from a TV reality show and as a spokeswoman for the diet supplement Trimspa. She borrowed money to buy a $US900,000 ($A1.15 million) mansion in the Bahamas and she was left with large legal debts involving the drug-related death of her son, Daniel.
"It's a very, very confused case," said Beverly Hills family law attorney Alexandra Leichter. "Whoever is going to claim to be the father had better get a good lawyer in the Bahamas."
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"They're going to find out this woman was much smarter than they thought," he said. "They will only have the responsibility for maintaining this child."
If the child inherits the money, I would think it would be a fairly luxurious lifestyle for the father because she'll have to have a good yearly income. Also, wouldn't the father inherit the money if the child dies...