Mourning a Death
I was truly sorry to hear of Anna Nicole Smith's death. Never mind that she just lost her son which was horrible. Never mind that she just had a baby, unthinkable. Never mind the ridiculous circus that was her life and now plagues her after her death. No, I am saddened by her death because she was actually responsible for a very important (I think) Supreme Court decision.
As I understand the facts (and believe me I could be wrong, because I avoid tabloid journalism like the plague), Anna Nicole Smith married a very rich older guy. Very rich older guy had a grown son. Very rich older guy prepared a trust benefiting Anna Nicole and then died. Very rich older guy's son then went into state Probate court and had the trust set aside. The state Probate court proceeded to give everything to very rich guy's son.
Anna Nicole was destitute (well as destitute as any sex symbol celebrity can be anyway). She filed for bankruptcy in Federal court and was assigned a Bankruptcy Trustee to marshall her assets. The Bankruptcy Trustee attempting to claim assets on behalf of Anna's creditors (and whatever was left over for Anna Nicole outright) thought that what the state Probate court and Very Rich Guy's Son had done was wrong and filed a complaint in Bankruptcy Court to set aside the state Probate court judgment and re-instate the Trust. Long story short, the United States Supreme Court agreed that the Bankruptcy Court had proper jurisdiction to take this action, because a Trust is a contract and ultimately, Anna Nicole got all her money back.
Legally, this is very significant. Trusts are contracts. People make trusts to avoid Probate and to avoid court. Contracts are not supposed to be treated like a Will. A Will is entirely different. State courts have historically had sole jurisdiction over Wills and Probate, because those matters are family orientated and local jurisdiction is considered the fairest method to handle such matters. CONTRACTS are different. Trusts are CONTRACTS on purpose. People create trusts to avoid Probate and State Court. More and more, States are passing laws to make Trusts act just like Wills. That's not the purpose at all. More and more, courts are treating Trusts just like a Will. That is the opposite of what people intend for Trusts to be. When the Supreme Court upholds the Bankruptcy Court's jurisdiction over a contract (the Trust), they reinforced the underlying purpose that Trusts are different than Wills. Hopefully, State legislatures will get the hint and stop passing so many laws regulating Trusts, but that's just a pipe dream of mine.
Anyway, back to Anna Nicole. It's just sad that she is a victim of such important litigation. If she hadn't won back all the money, no one would have wanted to have a baby with her (because I've seen her--you can't honestly believe that it wasn't for the money) and whoever killed her and her son (even without reading or watching any of the tabloids, I have to believe someone helped them die) wouldn't have had any motive (except that she was just soooo annoying, but I digress). It is just too sad.
As I understand the facts (and believe me I could be wrong, because I avoid tabloid journalism like the plague), Anna Nicole Smith married a very rich older guy. Very rich older guy had a grown son. Very rich older guy prepared a trust benefiting Anna Nicole and then died. Very rich older guy's son then went into state Probate court and had the trust set aside. The state Probate court proceeded to give everything to very rich guy's son.
Anna Nicole was destitute (well as destitute as any sex symbol celebrity can be anyway). She filed for bankruptcy in Federal court and was assigned a Bankruptcy Trustee to marshall her assets. The Bankruptcy Trustee attempting to claim assets on behalf of Anna's creditors (and whatever was left over for Anna Nicole outright) thought that what the state Probate court and Very Rich Guy's Son had done was wrong and filed a complaint in Bankruptcy Court to set aside the state Probate court judgment and re-instate the Trust. Long story short, the United States Supreme Court agreed that the Bankruptcy Court had proper jurisdiction to take this action, because a Trust is a contract and ultimately, Anna Nicole got all her money back.
Legally, this is very significant. Trusts are contracts. People make trusts to avoid Probate and to avoid court. Contracts are not supposed to be treated like a Will. A Will is entirely different. State courts have historically had sole jurisdiction over Wills and Probate, because those matters are family orientated and local jurisdiction is considered the fairest method to handle such matters. CONTRACTS are different. Trusts are CONTRACTS on purpose. People create trusts to avoid Probate and State Court. More and more, States are passing laws to make Trusts act just like Wills. That's not the purpose at all. More and more, courts are treating Trusts just like a Will. That is the opposite of what people intend for Trusts to be. When the Supreme Court upholds the Bankruptcy Court's jurisdiction over a contract (the Trust), they reinforced the underlying purpose that Trusts are different than Wills. Hopefully, State legislatures will get the hint and stop passing so many laws regulating Trusts, but that's just a pipe dream of mine.
Anyway, back to Anna Nicole. It's just sad that she is a victim of such important litigation. If she hadn't won back all the money, no one would have wanted to have a baby with her (because I've seen her--you can't honestly believe that it wasn't for the money) and whoever killed her and her son (even without reading or watching any of the tabloids, I have to believe someone helped them die) wouldn't have had any motive (except that she was just soooo annoying, but I digress). It is just too sad.
posted by KathrynVH @ 3:16 PM
2 Comments:
At March 3, 2007 at 8:23 AM,
marty said…
Anna Nicole died? I wish they had covered that on the news. They just never pay attention to the important stuff.
At March 3, 2007 at 12:46 PM,
Anonymous said…
Your response to her death is interesting, and so different than mine. That she died (just as all must die) it is only the fulfilment of a life, and in dieing early she may have hastened it by life style. People are dying in Darfur because of ethnic turmoil and, again, it is the completion of life, and they die early. What is important is the manner of death so that what can be corrected is indeed corrected. If Nicole was killed then it is of our interest to right that wrong, if it is possible. Darfur also, if it is possible. In both cases, my life goes on without undue internal stress on my part.
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