Lawyer for Smith's Baby Wants Payment
Oct. 15, 2007, 6:46 PM EST
The attorney who represented Anna Nicole Smith's infant daughter in the rancorous dispute over the starlet's body is seeking nearly $200,000 for his work.
Richard Milstein served as the court-appointed guardian ad litem for Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead. He has filed paperwork in state court in Broward County seeking $198,493.98 from a trust set up in Dannielynn's name.
Attorneys for the girl's father, Larry Birkhead, and Smith's longtime companion, Howard K. Stern, say Milstein's bill would exhaust nearly the entirety of an estimated $200,000 remaining in the trust, though the girl could eventually inherit millions more.
Besides acting as Dannielynn's representative in a Fort Lauderdale court, Milstein also helped coordinate funeral arrangements for Smith.
"This representation required the guardian ad litem to devote significantly all of his professional and personal time and attention to the interests of Dannielynn for a period in excess of two weeks," Milstein argued in his petition.
He did not return a phone call Monday seeking additional comment.
The matter is scheduled for a hearing Nov. 8, but attorneys for Birkhead, Stern and Smith's mother have already opposed.
"It is unconscionable for a trust established for a baby to be billed at a large firm hourly rate," wrote attorneys for Birkhead and Stern. They also said the Playboy model's mother, Virgie Arthur, should pay at least part of the bill, which the mother's attorney called ridiculous.
Lawyer Stephen Tunstall did find common ground with Birkhead and Stern in his objection to Milstein's accounting. He said the guardian ad litem "went wild" in generating a bill.
Smith, who died Feb. 8 in a Hollywood hotel, was the widow of Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II. She had been fighting Marshall's family for years over his estimated $500 million fortune, which could eventually go to Dannielynn.
Associated Press writer Jessica Gresko contributed to this report.
Oct. 15, 2007, 6:46 PM EST
The attorney who represented Anna Nicole Smith's infant daughter in the rancorous dispute over the starlet's body is seeking nearly $200,000 for his work.
Richard Milstein served as the court-appointed guardian ad litem for Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead. He has filed paperwork in state court in Broward County seeking $198,493.98 from a trust set up in Dannielynn's name.
Attorneys for the girl's father, Larry Birkhead, and Smith's longtime companion, Howard K. Stern, say Milstein's bill would exhaust nearly the entirety of an estimated $200,000 remaining in the trust, though the girl could eventually inherit millions more.
Besides acting as Dannielynn's representative in a Fort Lauderdale court, Milstein also helped coordinate funeral arrangements for Smith.
"This representation required the guardian ad litem to devote significantly all of his professional and personal time and attention to the interests of Dannielynn for a period in excess of two weeks," Milstein argued in his petition.
He did not return a phone call Monday seeking additional comment.
The matter is scheduled for a hearing Nov. 8, but attorneys for Birkhead, Stern and Smith's mother have already opposed.
"It is unconscionable for a trust established for a baby to be billed at a large firm hourly rate," wrote attorneys for Birkhead and Stern. They also said the Playboy model's mother, Virgie Arthur, should pay at least part of the bill, which the mother's attorney called ridiculous.
Lawyer Stephen Tunstall did find common ground with Birkhead and Stern in his objection to Milstein's accounting. He said the guardian ad litem "went wild" in generating a bill.
Smith, who died Feb. 8 in a Hollywood hotel, was the widow of Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II. She had been fighting Marshall's family for years over his estimated $500 million fortune, which could eventually go to Dannielynn.
Associated Press writer Jessica Gresko contributed to this report.
