Playmate may receive $475 million from husband’s estate

U.S. District Judge David Carter tentatively ruled in favor of former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith on Monday in her fight to receive $475 million from the estate of her 90-year-old husband J. Howard Marshall, but the judge said that he might change his mind. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Samuel Bufford awarded the money to Smith last year after a court battle with the oil baron’s son, Pierce Marshall. A Texas probate jury ruled in March that Pierce Marshall is the sole heir to the estate, and that neither Smith, or his older brother, Howard Marshall III, had a claim to it. Smith said that her late husband had offered half his money to her if she decided to marry him, while Howard Marshall said his father promised him half the estate, but neither offered proof. A jury ordered Howard Marshall to pay $35 million in damages and legal fees to Pierce Marshall, his family and lawyers. Carter is expected to make a final ruling next week, but will review the case law and arguments on both sides before making a final ruling.