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Stern also told ET that Smith did have a will drawn up in 2001, leaving all her belongings to Daniel. "But now Daniel's gone, and Dannielynn is an only child, so everything goes to Dannielynn," Stern said, adding that he is the executor. Stern also said that he and Smith had planned to get married on Feb. 27. Although the pair exchanged vows in a September commitment ceremony in the Bahamas, "we were going to make everything legally binding," he said.
Going forward, whoever is designated representative of Smith's estate may have the right to press on with her claim against the estimated $1.6 billion estate of Marshall. (The case – which has gone on for more than a decade – is awaiting action in California's 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.) If anything is collected in that claim, Dannielynn could be the first in line for any payments. But the man who is determined to be her true father could have substantial say in the use of Dannielynn's assets. Despite their longtime partnership, Stern "may not benefit from [Smith's] death," says Los Angeles family law attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan. "If the child receives everything and Birkhead were to become decreed the father, Stern is left out in the dark."
Amid all the questions and ensuing drama, this much is certain: Smith is no longer around to watch her daughter take her first steps, say her first "I love you" or ride her first bicycle. "I'm sad she's gone, but I was telling my husband the other day, 'Her spirit is free, and she has found her home and she is up there with her son,' " says Smith's friend Denise James. "She'll be able to protect her daughter now as an angel."
• By Michelle Tauber, Richard Jerome, Jill Smolowe and Bob Meadows. Linda Trischitta and Jon Warech in Hollywood, Fla., Siobhan Morrissey in the Bahamas, Vicki Sheff-Cahan, Frank Swertlow, Howard Breuer, Ken Lee, Lorenzo Benet and Johnny Dodd in Los Angeles and Wendy Grossman in Houston
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