Larry’s Plan for Dannielynn
April 23, 2007
There will be a hearing Wednesday to discuss travel plans for Dannielynn so she can visit the States.
From Virgie’s weekend visit to Larry’s travel plans, get the latest on Anna Nicole Smith’s baby girl.
ET confirms that VIRGIE ARTHUR — the estranged mother of ANNA NICOLE SMITH — spent time with DANNIELYNN on Friday afternoon at a lawyer’s office, holding her and playing with the little girl for over an hour.
But she wasn’t alone: Dannielynn’s biological father, LARRY BIRKHEAD, and Anna’s partner, HOWARD K. STERN, were also present.
Larry got to spend even more time with his baby girl over the weekend. ET has learned that Howard invited Larry to his Bahamian home to allow for some good father-daughter bonding time.
But the custody battle over Dannielynn is far from over. Larry and Virgie have to wait until June to sort out what visitation rights Virgie will get, if any.
Larry is going back to court this week to present his travel plans for himself and his daughter to a judge.
“Virgie isn’t so much trying to stop Larry from traveling,” says JENNIFER BIRN, Society Editor for OK! magazine. “But, she wants rights to Dannielynn.”
While Virgie is still in the Bahamas, she is not expected to attend Wednesday’s hearing. Once Larry is granted custody, he should be on the move rather quickly.
“Larry’s plan for the future is to leave the Bahamas as soon as the judge gives the OK,” says Jennifer.
While his family is in Kentucky, the bright lights of Hollywood also beckon. The current issue of OK! — which features Larry and his daughter on the cover — is one of their best-selling issues ever. Now, Larry is a household name and is reportedly getting lots of offers for other hot celebrity gigs.
http://www.etonline.com/celebrities/news/47900/
Larry Birkhead, Attorney Officially Part Ways
(CBS) LOS ANGELES Anna Nicole Smith’s former boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, and attorney Debra A. Opri officially parted ways Monday as a judge signed an order releasing her as his attorney.
“I think we did set some new law, didn’t we?,” Opri said as she received the signed documents from Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert A. Schnider.
“I think we covered some new areas of law, yes,” Schnider replied.
The celebrity photographer hired Opri last year and he sued Smith in October to force her to allow a paternity test of her daughter, Dannielynn Hope, born last Sept. 7 in the Bahamas, to determine who is the girl’s father.
Howard K. Stern, Smith’s personal attorney and paramour, also claimed to be the father and was presumed under Bahamian law to be so because his name was on the birth certificate.
“Larry wanted to keep two cases open (in Los Angeles and the Bahamas) because Anna intended to come back here with him,” Opri said.
Schnider ruled in Birkhead’s favor in Dec. 21, but the DNA testing of the girl was not performed until months later. In the meantime, the 39-year-old Smith died in Hollywood, Fla., on Feb. 8 of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.
Opri and Birkhead went to the Bahamas in February to challenge Stern over who would get custody of Smith’s remains, with both men eventually agreeing Smith would be buried in the islands next to her 20-year-old son, Daniel, who died last year of a drug overdose shortly after Dannielynn was born.
On April 10, the results of the paternity testing, taken in the the Bahamas, showed Birkhead was the father.
However, Opri suddenly withdrew as Birkhead’s lawyer on March 16, releasing a statement saying, “Larry Birkhead and I have terminated our attorney-client relationship immediately.”
Although Opri did not give an official explanation of the reason for their parting of the ways, published reports said there had been a strain between the two for some time and that they had a disagreement over strategy.
But Opri said Monday that there are no hard feelings between her and Birkhead, even after her bill to him of more than $600,000 for her services was made public.
“It was simply time for me to go,” Opri said. “I’m proud of this case. People don’t realize how many lives were touched by this case.”
Opri said she considered the case bigger than that of the O.J. Simpson criminal case.
Despite the public statements by both sides, Opri remained Birkhead’s lawyer until Monday because he did not sign the form releasing her, Opri said.
Birkhead never put his name on the release form, but he did not appear in court today to contest Opri’s motion to withdraw, so the judge approved it.
Opri said she believes the judge handling the case in the Bahamas is giving Birkhead time to bond with Dannielynn.
She said all future custody hearings will take place there and that the Los Angeles Superior Court case is likely concluded.
Opri predicted that if Birkhead wins custody — as expected — his most likely would raise the girl in Kentucky, where he has relatives, or Los Angeles, where he worked professionally.
Dannielynn could inherit a fortune as the only surviving offspring of the widow of billionaire oil magnate J. Howard Marshall, who died in August 1995.
http://cbs2.com/local/local_story_113133653.html
so she can VISIT the states?