The woman who claims that she “never hated a man enough to give him diamonds back” may have to change her mind when it comes to Bernie Madoff. Zsa Zsa Gabor claims to have lost between $7-$10 million as part of Madoff’s scheme, leaving her with some substantial tax woes.
The 92 year old actress has been liened by the Internal Revenue Service for $118,000 for the years 2001 and 2002; the lien has been filed against one of Gabor’s mansions in California. Gabor’s lawyer, Chris Fields, says that the tax bill is part of the fallout from the Madoff scheme.
Gabor’s husband (from her longest marriage – so far) German playboy Frederic von Anhalt intends to help Gabor work out a payment plan with the IRS. Anhalt has reportedly received millions of dollars by selling the Anhalt name by adopting, along with Zsa Zsa, several men. If that sounds a little bit crazy, remember that this is the same man that claimed to be the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby (yeah, that’s where you’ve heard the name before). Crazy is relative.
You’d think that the rich and famous would actually put a little more thought into things like wills, taxes and probate. Or at least hire someone to think about it. But not our Anna.
Let’s take her will for starters. I can’t even imagine why, when the possibility exists that Anna was worth millions, the will was as poorly drafted as it appears to be. It specifically excluded any afterborn children – which would make sense if she planned not to have any. But it was popular knowledge that she wanted another child – and it was clearly tabloid fodder when she became pregnant. She had months to get her affairs in order, but she didn’t.
But then, maybe she was intimidated by lawyers. Maybe she didn’t have access to a lawyer. Oh wait, she was “married” to one…
And that lawyer, not-really-her-husband, Howard Stern, has applied in Los Angeles Superior Court to be special administrator of Anna Nicole’s estate “to immediately marshal and preserve the assets of the estate.” If approved, Stern would be charged with sorting out Smith’s assets, debts and taxes. Stern was named as the First Executor under the terms of Anna’s will.
Stern hopes to begin administering Anna’s millions. Or million. Or less than a million.
Stern’s petition values Smith’s home at $1.8 million and lists her personal property in the amount of $10,000 – seem low to anyone else, considering her penchant for expensive jewelry? Smith still owed $1.1 million in mortgage debt on the property, reducing her total assets to less than $1 million.
However, there is the potential for many millions more, pending the outcome of the ongoing battle with the Marshall family. Anna’s former husband died in 1995 and did not leave her the hundreds of millions that she claims he promised her. The struggle for control over that money made it all of the way to the Supreme Court, where the Court ruled solely on choice of venue/jurisdiction in favor of Anna, sending the case back to court in California. If her estate is successful, Anna’s sole heir, Dannielynn stands to inherit all of Anna’s estate (less debts, taxes, legal fees – and oh yea, that Executor’s commission which Stern denies he will accept).
A probate hearing has been scheduled for June 19.
The most recent news out of the Anna Nicole Smith camp is that her Will does not provide for anyone other than her now deceased son, Daniel. In fact, it specifically excludes afterborn children and future spouses.
Of course, the wrench in all of this is that Daniel predeceased Anna Nicole, thus likely creating an intestacy (the legal term when there is not a will or if there is a will but a hole in the scheme of distribution). So now it really matters where Anna Nicole’s domicile is judged to be, as the laws of that jurisdiction would determine the
distribution. Like the James Brown situation, it now matters whether Anna Nicole is actually married to her attorney, Howard Stern – that "little piece of paper" suddenly makes all of the difference in the world.
You can read the Will here as a pdf.
Just hours after the news of Anna Nicole Smith’s suspicious death broke, there were already questions about the status of her deceased husband’s estate. The main query was whether the case could proceed. The short answer is yes, that absolutely it can proceed. In fact, the executor of her estate (who many people assume will be her boyfriend and lawyer, Howard Stern, though this has not been confirmed) has an obligation to pursue any outstanding claims on her behalf.
We’ll know within a few days, most likely, who has been appointed to administer her estate and what the distribution of her potentially sizable estate will be. If the majority of her estate is payable to Howard Stern, expect an investigation.
