In the Anna Nicole Smith estate case, the money stayed with the heirs named in J. Howard Marshall II’s original estate plan. Smith, who married the Texas oil tycoon in 1994 and was left nothing in his will, spent nearly two decades trying to claim a share of his fortune. When the litigation finally ended, her estate walked away with none of it.1Justia. Stern v. Marshall
Who Received the Money
Marshall’s will and trust left the bulk of his wealth to his son, E. Pierce Marshall. Smith, whose legal name was Vickie Lynn Marshall, was not included. A Texas probate court reviewed the estate plan and declared it valid, and that ruling is the one that ultimately controlled where the money went. The heirs identified in that plan kept the estate.2Justia. Marshall v. Marshall
Why the Texas Ruling Won Out
Two courts had been running at once. The Texas probate court upheld the will. A California federal bankruptcy court, hearing Smith’s claim that Pierce Marshall had interfered with an inheritance she expected, sided with Smith and awarded her a large sum. The two outcomes could not both stand.1Justia. Stern v. Marshall
The U.S. Supreme Court settled the conflict in 2011 in Stern v. Marshall. It held that the bankruptcy court did not have the constitutional authority to enter a final judgment on Smith’s state-law interference claim. With the federal award set aside, the Texas probate decision was left as the final word on the estate.1Justia. Stern v. Marshall
What Smith Had Been Awarded Before It Was Set Aside
For a time, it looked as if Smith would collect a fortune. The bankruptcy court awarded her more than $400 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages. A federal district court later reduced the total to about $88.6 million. None of that money was ever paid out, because the Supreme Court’s 2011 ruling wiped the award away.1Justia. Stern v. Marshall
What Happened After Smith and Pierce Marshall Died
Marshall died in August 1995, just 14 months after the marriage. Smith died in February 2007 at 39. Pierce Marshall also died before the litigation ended. The case kept going with Smith’s estate and her young daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead, stepping in as the claimants, but the final rulings came after both of the original parties were gone. When the dust settled, the money stayed where Marshall’s estate plan had originally directed it.1Justia. Stern v. Marshall