Anna Nicole Smith’s Body — Who Controls Dispostion?

The battle rages on today (February 20, 2007) in a Florida courtroom regarding the appropriate disposition of Anna Nicole Smith’s body.

First, the moral:  Everyone should have express written instructions regarding their body disposition desires, e.g., burial, cremation, location, etc.  States vary with regard to where these instructions should be located (in a separate document or in a will) and the degree to which the instructions are binding on family members.

Here is a summary of the current situation:

• Anna left no written instructions.
• Howard K. Stern (companion) wants Anna buried in the Bahamas next to her son, Daniel.  Stern asserts that Anna owns the plot next to her son and has invoices to prove it.  He also has affidavits of four people (bodyguard, doctor, neighbor, and friend) who swear that Anna told them she wanted to be buried by Daniel.
• Virgie Arthur (mother) wants Anna buried in her home state of Texas.  She claims that as the closest adult next-of-kin, her desires should trump that of a Stern, a legal stranger.
• Larry Birkhead (ex-boyfriend and alleged father of Dannielynn) agrees with Virgie.

See AP, Courts on both coasts examine Smith issues, CNN.com, Feb. 20, 2007.