In San Francisco Federal Courthouse, Anna Nicole Smith Continues Legal Battle Over Husband J. Howard Marshall III’s Estate
Reality star and model Anna Nicole Smith appeared at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a mediation hearing to continue the legal dispute over her dead husband’s will.
While Smith was not included in Marshall’s will, she has argued that he intended to take care of her through a special trust. Smith had initially won a $474 million judgment. This was then cut to $89 million and later to 0 before the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Last may, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that only a California court should deal with the case, even though a Texas state court had ruled that Marshall’s youngest son was his only heir. Smith is also currently involved in a legal dispute with her ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead over the paternity of her daughter Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern who was born in September.
Contesting a will is a type of litigation that challenges the document’s validity. A will contest takes place when someone produces another will or files an objection to a will. Not just anyone can contest a will. A person must have proper standing to contest a will. For example, a spouse who wasn’t named in a will can contents the will. So can a child who was cut out of their parent's will because they were in the middle of a dispute with that parent at the time the will was written.
Often, the persons who will change a will’s validity are the beneficiaries or heirs who have received nothing or very little.
The typical objections for contesting a will:
(1) The will was not properly drawn, signed or witnessed, according to the state’s formal requirements.
(2) The decedent lacked mental capacity at the time the will was executed.
(3) There was fraud, force or undue influence, and the terms of the will reflects someone else's wishes rather than the wishes of the person that the will belongs to.
(4) The will was a forgery.
(5) There is a later will that was also made by the deceased and is deemed legally valid.
If a probate court decides that a will is invalid, the court may choose to invalidate all of the will or only the provisions that were challenged. If the entire will is held invalid, the deceased person’s estate will be distributed according to state law.
California Intestate Succession Laws
If any part of a California decedent's estate is not effectively disposed of by will, the intestate share will be distributed in the following order and manner:
1. Surviving spouse/domestic partner. In California, a surviving spouse or domestic partner is generally first in line to get any assets from the intestate estate, including any community property, quasi-community property, and separate property that belonged to the decedent.
The surviving spouse or domestic partner is entitled to the one-half of the community or quasi-community property that belonged to the decedent. In addition, the surviving spouse is entitled to the following amounts of separate property in the estate:
-If there is no surviving issue (i.e., child), parent, sibling, or issue of a deceased sibling of decedent, the surviving spouse is entitled to the entire intestate estate.
-If the decedent leaves a surviving child, children of that child (if the child predeceases the decedent), parents, or siblings, the surviving spouse gets one-half of the intestate separate property.
-If the decedent leaves more than one child or children of a predeceased child, the surviving spouse gets one-third of the separate property in the intestate estate.
2. Heirs other than surviving spouse. Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse or domestic partner as indicated above, or the entire intestate estate, if there is no surviving spouse or domestic partner, passes as follows:
-Decedent's descendants (e.g., children and grandchildren).
-Decedent's surviving parent or parents equally.
-Issue of decedent's parent or parents, split equally if they are all of the same degree of kinship to the decedent (e.g., all decedent's siblings survive) or split per stirpes if unequal (e.g., some siblings survive and some are dead but survived by children).
-Decedent's surviving grandparent or grandparents equally.
-Issue of decedent's grandparents, per stirpes.
-Issue of a predeceased spouse. To be eligible to real property, the former spouse cannot predecease the decedent by more than 15 years. For personal property, the former spouse cannot predecease the decedent by more than 5 years.
-Decedent's next of kin in equal degree. If a claim is made through two or more different ancestral lines, those who claim through the ancestor nearest to the decedent are preferred over others.
3. State of California. If there is no taker under any of the above provisions, the intestate estate reverts (escheats) to the state of California.
Sagaria Law, P.C. handles estate planning matters for clients in Santa Clara County, Monterey County, Alameda County, and the surrounding areas. Our estate planning attorneys are experienced at making wills, will contests, setting up living wills, probate matters, and other estate planning-related issues. Contact Sagaria Law, P.C. today for a free consultation.
Anna Nicole Smith in San Francisco Court, Forbes.com, December 15, 2006
Will Contest, Probate@freeadvice.com
California Intestate Succession Laws, CCH Financial Planning Toolkit
Related Web Resource:
Marshall V. Marshall, Supremecourtus.gov (PDF)
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