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Anna Nicole Smith leaves everything to dead son

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NEW: Anna Nicole Smith left everything to son Daniel, who died in September
• Howard K. Stern is executor of will, written in 2001
• Judge orders Smith's body embalmed
• Mother wants burial in Texas; Stern wants Bahamas burial
From Susan Candiotti
CNN
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (CNN) -- Anna Nicole Smith left everything to her son Daniel, who died in September, according to a will released Friday by a Florida court.

She also named longtime companion Howard K. Stern as executor, according to the document dated July 30, 2001.

The 16-page will was never updated. It does not mention Smith's 5-month-old daughter, Dannielynn. (Read the will -- pdf)

Clouding an already murky legal scenario, some language in the will seems to exclude any of Smith's future spouses or children.

Yet in other sections, it refers to Smith's "children," instructing the executor, for example, to manage the estate "such that my children are distributed sufficient sums for their health, education and support."

The stakes are huge -- perhaps $88 million or more. Smith's heir or heirs stand to inherit a stake in her longstanding claim to the $1.6 billion fortune of her late husband, Texas oil baron J. Howard Marshall II.

Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom said the will's language appears to exclude Dannielynn from any inheritance. However, Bloom said, the fact that there is no living heir means that a court battle over the estate is virtually guaranteed.

Assets in trust

Bloom suggested that Stern, who says he and Smith planned to marry later this month, may bow out of the position because of their close relationship. Attorney Ron Rale is listed as the second choice for executor in the will. (Watch how the will gives Howard Stern legal clout Video)

The executor is authorized to set up and oversee a trust on behalf of Smith's beneficiaries, and to make investments on its behalf.

The document is signed "Vickie Lynn Marshall," her legal name at the time. But the world knew her as Anna Nicole Smith -- Playboy Playmate, Guess jeans model and reality TV show star.

Smith's son would have received distributions at ages 25, 30 and 35. Daniel was 20 when he died.

The judge overseeing the dispute over the former Playmate's burial ordered attorneys to file a copy of the will, which had been the subject of intense speculation since Smith's sudden death eight days ago.

The document is considered crucial to giving Stern the legal standing to determine Smith's final resting place -- the subject of a contentious courtroom battle with Smith's estranged mother, Virgie Arthur. (Watch plans for Anna Nicole's burial dress come out in court Video)

Stern's attorneys say Smith bought a plot in the Bahamas, next to the plot where Daniel is buried. He died of an overdose in September, three days after Dannielynn was born at a Bahamas hospital.

Smith's estranged mother wants to take the body home to Texas for burial in the family plot, her attorneys say.

Judge OKs embalming

Broward Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin signed an order Friday to have Smith's refrigerated remains embalmed.

"We're beginning to give her peace," Seidlin said.

The procedure will be done Friday under heavy security at the Broward County Medical Examiner's office in nearby Dania Beach.

Meanwhile, any decision about releasing Smith's body for burial isn't likely until next week at the earliest.

Seidlin ordered Stern to appear at the hearing Tuesday, and he is expected to testify. His lawyer, Krista Barth, argued unsuccessfully to have him appear by video phone from the Bahamas, where he is caring for Dannielynn.

Meanwhile, court-appointed administrator Shane Kelley began interviewing the parties to prepare for the hearing, which will serve as a mini-trial. Kelley will recommend to the judge who should receive Smith's remains for burial.

Seidlin has displayed affable aplomb as he tries to sort through a tangle of legal arguments and competing interests. He has referred to the squabbling lawyers as "a good group" and Smith as "beautiful."

Bickering lawyers

Besides the lawyers for Stern and Arthur, there are attorneys for Smith, daughter Dannielynn, and Smith's former lover, Larry Birkhead, who is seeking a paternity test to prove he is Dannielynn's father. (Watch CNN's Jeff Toobin try to untangle the legal mess Video)

The lawyers have frequently traded barbs.

"The woman sitting across from me was estranged from her daughter. I have people who loved her," sniffed Barth, attorney for Stern, on Thursday. "She stands here today to take her to Texas and put her in the ground all alone. It's sad and it's sick."

Retorted Arthur's lawyer, Stephen Tunstall: "Counsel is trying to trash my client in some kind of emotional appeal. My client is her mother. She wants to take her back to Texas to be buried with the rest of the family. She has the right."

And so it went, all day Thursday and for half a day on Friday and, from the looks of things, for many more days to come. The judge worked hard to keep things on track.

"We're trying to balance the rights and respect of the body with the legal issues," Seidlin said. "When we bury her, I want it to be forever,"

The judge has appointed a guardian, Miami attorney Richard Milstein, to protect the interests of Smith's infant daughter, Dannielynn. He also appointed Kelley, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer, to sort through the competing interests and advise him.

Witnesses, including people close to Smith, are expected to testify Tuesday.

Who's the father?

Birkhead and Stern each claim to be the father of Smith's nearly 6-month-old daughter, Dannielynn. Stern's name is on the birth certificate.

Smith's former bodyguard, Alexander Denk, told CNN's Larry King that he, too, could be Dannielynn's father, saying he and Smith had an off-and-on relationship for years.

Denk is the fourth person to claim he could be the child's father. Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband, Frederic von Anhalt, has said he and Smith had a decade-long affair and that he could have fathered the child. He filed court papers seeking a paternity test on Thursday.

Smith, 39, died February 8 after she was found unconscious in her room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Hollywood, Florida.

The release of Smith's body -- and even the embalming process -- was delayed because attorneys for Birkhead wanted a DNA sample for a paternity test.

The judge ordered an additional sample be taken.

CNN's Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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