Anna Nicole Smith found dead

Famous playmate of the year Anna Nicole Smith at age of only 39 found dead in her room in Hard Rock hotel in Hollywood.Her companion the famous lawyer Howard K. Stern was with her, she didnt felt well and she died on the way to the hospital. Anna Nicole Smith become famous in 1993 when she was picked for a Playmate of the year for Playboy Magaine.She married 86 y.o, highly publicized marriage to oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall, who was 63 years her senior, resulted in considerable speculation that she married the octogenarian merely for his money, which she denied. Following his death, she began a lengthy and ongoing legal battle over a share of his estate. Her case, Marshall v. Marshall stands for the U.S. Supreme Court rule that bankruptcy courts have very extensive federal jurisdiction.

Within weeks of J. Howard Marshall's death, Smith squared off against his son, E. Pierce Marshall, for half of her late husband's $1.6 billion estate. She joined forces with J. Howard's other son, James Howard Marshall III, whom the elder Howard had disowned. Howard III claimed J. Howard orally promised him a portion of his estate; like Smith, Howard III was also left out of J. Howard's will, which he updated weeks after their marriage.^[9] The case has gone on for more than a decade, producing a highly publicized court battle in Texas and several judicial decisions that have gone both for and against Smith in that time.
In 1996, Smith filed for bankruptcy in California as a result of a $850,000 judgment against her in a legal action unrelated to the Marshall estate. As any money potentially due her from the Marshall estate was part of her potential assets, the bankruptcy court involved itself in the matter.
Smith claimed J. Howard orally promised her half of his estate if she married him. In September 2000, a Los Angeles bankruptcy judge awarded her $449,754,134. In July 2001, Houston judge Mike Wood affirmed the jury findings in the probate case by ruling that Smith was entitled to nothing and ordered Smith to pay over $1 million in fees and expenses to Pierce's legal team. The conflict between the Texas probate court and California bankruptcy court judgments forced the matter into federal court.^{[dubious — see talk page]}

In March 2002, a federal judge vacated the California bankruptcy court's ruling and issued a new ruling but reduced the award to $88 million. In December 2004, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the March 2002 decision, affirming the Texas Probate jury findings that no misconduct had occurred, Smith was not one of J. Howard Marshall's heirs and that the federal courts lacked jurisdiction to overrule the probate decisions of a Texas state court.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided in September 2005 to hear the appeal of that decision. The Bush administration subsequently directed the Solicitor General to intercede on Smith's behalf out of an interest to expand federal court jurisdiction over state probate disputes.
After months of waiting, Smith and her stepson Pierce learned of the Supreme Court's decision on May 1, 2006. The justices unanimously decided in favor of Smith; Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion. (See Marshall v. Marshall)The decision did not give Smith a portion of her husband's estate, but affirmed her right to pursue a share of it in federal court.
On June 20, 2006, E. Pierce Marshall died at age 67 after an infection. His widow, Elaine T. Marshall, now represents his estate.The case has been remanded to the 9th Circuit to adjudicate the remaining appellate issues not previously resolved.

Source:Author S.K and www.wikipedia.org