Now that We Know Larry Birkhead Fathered Dannielynn, is the Baby Drama Over or is it Just Getting Started?

On April 10, 2007, the cloud over who fathered Anna Nicole Smith's 7 month old daughter was finally lifted. With his arms raised in victory, we discovered that Larry Birkhead, not Howard K. Stern, is the biological father of adorable little Dannielynn. But is this really over or is the real drama about to begin? All over the internet and on television, many are speculating that with the upcoming custody battle and the battle over the baby's inheritance of an estate worth millions of dollars, this story will probably remain headline news for quite some time.

Now that the paternity of Anna Nicole's baby has been established, the court system must decide who should get custody of the child. While you and I might think that it would be best for Dannielynn's daddy to have custody of her, the Bahamian court has to determine whats best for the child. According to Ron Rale, the lawyer that represented Anna Nicole Smith on a number of occasions, the Bahamian courts have jurisdiction over the custody matter. It's likely that the court will schedule a hearing to determine if Larry Birkhead is fit to be granted custody. That process could get started as early as Friday, when Emrick Knowles, the attorney for Larry Birkhead, is due back in court. Why would the biological father have to be declared fit to take custody of his own child? Under Bahamian law paternity does not automatically grant custody.

The court will probably try to determine what Anna Nicole Smith's wishes were for her daughter. The fact that Howard K. Stern, who currently has custody and is listed as the father on the child's birth certificate, Anna Nicole and Dannielynn lived together in the Bahamas as a family unit, doesn't help Mr. Birkhead's case. Nor do any of the comments Anna Nicole Smith made against Larry Birkhead after the birth of Dannielynn. But will Mr. Stern protest Larry Birkhead's bid for custody? According to People magazine, it doesn't appear that Howard K. Stern will put up a fight. He's alleged to have hugged Larry Birkhead outside the courthouse and stated "We're going to do what we can to make sure that the best interests of Dannielynn are carried out". Also according to People, Mr. Stern further said "and I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure he gets sole custody". I don't know about you, but it seems the two statements could conflict with one another. Giving Larry Birkhead sole custody may not be in the child's best interest if the court determines Anna Nicole wanted Howard K. Stern to raise her daughter. We'll just have to stay tuned to find out who gets custody of little Dannielynn.

The real issue surrounding Dannielynn is money. As Anna Nicole Smith's sole heir, she stands to inherit her mother's share in the estate of Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II. Anna, then a twenty something bombshell, gained notoriety when she married Marshall, who was eighty nine at the time, back in 1994. At the time of Anna Nicole's untimely death on February 8, 2007, she was still entangled in a legal battle with Mr. Marshall's son over her right to share in the estate of the late oil baron. Last year the Supreme Court overturned an earlier federal appeals court ruling against Anna Nicole receiving any money from her late husband's estate, which is estimated to be worth $500 million and $1.6 billion. The ruling cleared the way for Anna to collect the millions Marshall promised her. With so much money at stake, there's likely to be a battle between whoever gets custody of Dannielynn and the executor of Anna's estate. God only knows how all of this will play out. The rest of us will just have to continue following it in our favorite news outlet.