From here:
ANNA Nicole Smith, the former Playboy model, was yesterday mourning the loss of $88 million (£46 million) after judges in the United States confiscated her share of her late husband's estate.The ruling ended a nine-year battle triggered by one of the most bizarre marriages in history - the bride was 26 and her groom was 89, wheelchair-bound and mentally compromised. He was also the richest man in Texas.
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It is the second time Smith has been stripped of a stake in the late oil tycoon's estate. In 2001, a judge in California awarded her $475 million, but a subsequent court decision saw the sum being taken off the table following protests from Mr Marshall’s son.
However, in March 2002, another judge concluded that while the couple’s relationship had been "driven by greed and lust", Mr Marshall genuinely loved Smith. The US district judge backed Smith’s claim that she had a legal right to expect a posthumous "gift" from her husband following his death in 1995, based on promises he made to her and instructions he gave his lawyers to prepare a trust fund for her.
Mr Marshall’s son, meanwhile, had engaged in "malicious misconduct" in an attempt to keep the cashpot intact for himself, concluded the judge.
Late on Thursday, an appeals court voided that decision, stating that the judge had overstepped his authority in hearing the case. Smith, they ruled, is not entitled to a single cent beyond the $7 million she received during her 14-month marriage, a sum that included $2.4 million in jewellery and $700,000 to further her modelling career.
"Anna Nicole would never have had to work another day in her life if she had listened to her husband’s advice and not frittered away the money that he gave her for her future," said Mr Marshall’s son yesterday.
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