Anna Nicole: a textbook case

2007-03-12 19:13

Miami - Anna Nicole Smith dropped out of high school, but in a twist as bizarre as the model's life and death, she has been appearing in law school courses for years. Now, more so than ever, it is the dropout who has something to teach.

Even before her death last month led to legal wrangling, Smith was a case study for students learning about estate law.

Her high-profile court feud with the family of her late husband, Texas oil tycoon J Howard Marshall II, landed them in at least one widely used textbook: Wills, Trusts and Estates. (They are kissing on page 195)

Now, one poorly drafted will and a court dispute over her body later, law professors are finding her troubles can again serve as an example to students.

Over the past month, professors say they have answered questions about court proceedings or used Smith to illustrate an issue in passing.

Some have even distributed and discussed copies of her will. Students say it has been interesting and instructive to watch the case play out.

"The students were asking right away: 'When are we going to talk about Anna Nicole Smith?"' said Susan French, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

She assigned Smith's will as reading and discussed it in class.

A puzzling clause

For example, what happens if children are born after a will is written, as Smith's infant daughter was? What happens if a beneficiary dies before the will's creator, as Smith's son did?

One clause where Smith appears to disinherit future spouses and children has become particularly intriguing for law classes. It is something a man would write if he might have illegitimate children, professors said.

Why would it be in Smith's will? Was she an egg donor? Did she give a baby up for adoption? Or, was it just language carelessly copied from a template?

Smith's will also illustrates one common flaw, said Stephen Urice, a trusts and estates professor at the University of Miami. He said many wills do not include a contingency plan.

Urice's students also read Smith's will, discussing its flaws in class. He hopes students can apply those lessons to their own will drafting assignment.

"It was enormously helpful," said student Lou Mandarini of critiquing Smith's will.

Sean Carney, a law student at the University of California, Davis, said that mentions of Smith in his class on wills and trusts also made for timely discussion.

"Even though the cases we read about come from the real world they come bound in a big fat book," he said, explaining they can seem divorced from daily events.

Smith's complex legal problems have made her an easy target for law school scenarios, testing whether students can spot issues.

'Still making news'

Curiosity about Smith's case has even spilled over to unrelated law classes. G Eric Brunstad jr teaches law at Yale and is attorney for the family of Smith's deceased husband, but is not teaching trusts and estates.

"One of my students raises her hand and says: 'Can you tell us about who is going to get the body?"' he said, laughing.

Smith, of course, is still making news. The Broward County medical examiner said post-mortem findings on Smith will be released later than expected because of new evidence.

Two professors who also expect to confront Smith's case again are New York University's Robert Sitkoff and Northwestern University's James Lindgren, editors of Wills, Trusts and Estates, where Smith previously served as an example.

Sitkoff is teaching the subject at Harvard this semester, where he received e-mails from students with questions before he touched on her in class. A class of international students surprised Lindgren by being interested, too.

Smith will likely remain in the book's next edition, both said, partly because students enjoy cases where they recognise the participants.

"There can be contracts cases with Elvis. It does make it easier to teach,"

- AP