Dannielynn Birkhead is entitled to sanctions against J. Howard Marshall’s family

Jun 1, 2013 07:12 GMT  ·  By

Anna Nicole Smith, the tragic blonde who died in 2007 of a drug OD, rose to fame when she married J. Howard Marshall II for one year and then claimed she was entitled to a share of his estimated $1 billion (€770 million) fortune when he died. Her daughter might still get a share of that money.

Smith’s case was as mediated as it was scandalous.

The buxom blonde married Marshall in 1994 but never shared the same house with him.

He died within the year, aged 90 but, in the following court case, she claimed they had been together for much longer and that he had showered her with expensive presents and promises of her inclusion in his will.

After his death, his family attacked Smith in court, saying she was entitled to zero cents from the Marshall estate, to which a judge agreed.

For some context, Anna Nicole was 26 when she was widowed.

Now, TMZ has learned that Smith’s daughter with Larry Birkhead, Dannielynn, may still get a small fraction of that money.

“The Supreme Court ruled years ago that Anna's estate was NOT entitled to any of J. Howard Marshall's fortune – estimated between $500 million and $1 billion [€385.2 and 770 million] – but yesterday, a California judge said Anna's 6-year-old daughter Dannielynn is entitled to sanctions against Marshall's family,” the celebrity publication writes.

“The judge hasn't specified the amount of the sanctions yet but previously suggested they could run as high as $49 million [€37.7 million],” adds the same media outlet.

“The judge awarded the sanctions based on allegations that attorneys for Marshall's estate used unsavory tactics throughout litigation, such as concealing crucial legal docs from Anna's estate lawyers,” the report further says.

Dannielynn is now living with her father Larry. She had a brother, who died in 2006, one day after she was born, as he was visiting Anna in the hospital. Daniel was only 20 at the time, with an autopsy ruling his death as an overdose.