Exactly two weeks after she died, a Florida judge made a ruling yesterday on where the remains of Anna Nicole Smith should be buried. Actually, he didn't rule on where she should be buried, just on who got to make that decision. However, Judge Larry Seidlin made clear what he thought the deceased's model's wishes were before giving custody of her remains to Richard Milstein, the court-appointed guardian of Smith's infant daughter. Shortly after Judge Seidlin's decision, Mr. Milstein announced that he would be taking Smith's remains back to the Bahamas to be buried beside her son.
Even without Judge Seidlin's innappropriate display of emotion from the bench (he cried, had to take a break, and "blubbered"), all of the legal matters that have arisen from the death of Smith have taken on the tone of a parody of the justice system. I keep waiting for one of the parties involved to give a sly smirk to the audience before announcing, "Live from New York it's Saturday Night!" We all deserve better.
It's interesting from a legal perspective to see a lawyer appointed as a child's guardian when her parentage is in dispute. That is not a practice that I'm familiar with here in Canada, although it doesn't sound like it's uncommon in Florida. I don't believe that the child is living with Mr. Milstein, so this is obviously strictly for legal purposes until her paternity is settled. Usually in situations where an obvious guardian does not present him/herself, the child is put into foster care until the dispute is settled, or sent to live with an impartial third party (i.e. family friend) rather than having a court-appointed guardian. Little Dannielynn's paternity should be settled within a few weeks. It took a backseat while the burial was in dispute.
If Anna Nicole Smith needed to be buried soon because of the state of her body, the family of James Brown were in no hurry to decide on his final resting place. Following his death on Christmas Day, they kept his body in a temperature-controlled room before moving him to a crypt, where he has "resided" for the past several weeks.
Finally, just one day before the Smith decision, Brown's children and spouse agreed on a burial place. The exact location will be kept secret, but he will be buried. It took nearly two months, but a peaceful decision was made. That's got to make him feel good.
And I know that the point of all of this is obvious, but please - write your wishes down. Find an executor you trust. Make a Will. Unless, of course, you're satisfied with having the court make these decisions for you.