Douglas A. Turner, P.C.

Anna Nicole Smith’s will also contains something called a no contest clause. In article VI, Anna Nicole Smith disinherits any heir that disputes the terms of the will in any way, shape or form. It is a very broad clause. It is another “standard” clause found in many wills. It is a clause we do not include without giving it serious thought. The reason why can be seen in the Anna Nicole Smith saga.

For those of you who have been on a desert island for the last few weeks, the lovely Anna Nicole Smith has passed before her time in a Florida hotel room, as a resident of the Bahamas with a will drafted in California and a lawyer as her boyfriend and confidant. The will executed in 2001 specifically provides for her son who committed suicide. The will makes no mention of her daughter who was born after the will was executed. The multimillion-dollar question is whether Anna Nicole Smith intentionally did not provide for that daughter. No law school professor could have conjured up a better essay question for a final exam in estate planning 101.