Starting Over Talk - Peer Coaching Support Site

It seemed like Anna disliked her mom quite a bit. It's hard to tell if it was the drugs talking or some real reason. Drug addicts don't want to be around people who tell them the truth about their drug use....They say those people are mean and evil. Ever watch that show Intervention?

I think Anna was embarrassed of her family because they didn't fit the Hollywood image she longed for. It seems as if Vergie did a good job raising Daniel while Anna danced at the strip clubs. She also didn't fight Anna for custody when she came back for him. She probably regrets that now. If he had stayed with grandmother, things might be different.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Anna Nicole Smith's daughter, Dannielynn has a new last name. It's Birkhead.
Larry Birkhead, has changed the name on her birth certificate. He took the name Howard K. Stern off it.

A court in the Bahamas has cleared the way for Birkhead to leave the country with Dannielynn.

The court rejected an appeal by Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur to let him take the baby. The judges in the Bahamas also ruled that a U.S. court probably will have the final say in the
custody dispute between Arthur and Birkhead.

They have to be back in the Bahamas for another custody hearing June 8th.

Thanks for the update. I know Vergie has taken a lot of slack on account of her claim in the custody battle, but, I do see why she may have done what she did.

She raised Daniel from a baby and then when he was older, Anna came and took him away. She had little if any contact with Daniel until his death. At that point she trusted that Anna would raise him right and didn't fight to get legal custody. I bet she regrets she didn't fight for custody of Daniel back then. Maybe if she had retained some contact with the boy, she could have made some difference in his life.

She may wish to ensure she maintains the right to some contact with Dannilynn. If she only relies on Larry's word, what if he changes his mind or he marries and the step mother adopts her? Vergie could once again be a grandmother who has no rights to contact her grandchild. Even if she loses, at least she can tell Dannilynn that she tried. One day when Dannilynn asks about her mother's side of the family, she will know her grandmother tried to get the right to be a part of her life. If anyone prevents that from happening, they'll have to answer for their actions.

Couldn't there be a court order allowing her contact/ visitations without having joint custody? Seems that if she said all she wants to be is a grandmother. Larry said he had no problems with that... just won't share legal custody with the child or allow someone to tell him what to do with the child in a legal sense.

It seems she wants part of control over the child and the tust fund. Larry was quoted as saying she says one thing to the public and to him during the battle.. and then changes her story once he was proven to be the father. I just don't buy what she's saying as far as just wanting visitation. I think she wants to ensure she has some control of what happens to the child and her money. I'm not sure if it's a worried grandma or just very controlling.

Each jurisdiction is different with it's law on child matters. In our state, visitation is a part of custody....meaning, even if you wanted visitation, you would have to file a custody action. You could explain what you wanted in the complaint, but, it would actually be a custody action.

I don't know about the Bahamas or Californina.
The only reason I could see that she would want joint decision making authority, is for logistical reasons. Say she had visitation once per month and on alternating holidays and 2 weeks in the summer. Well, if Larry decided to move to Australia, the same schedule might not work out, or it would be Vergie's responsiblity to get to Australia and cover the expenses. In order to keep the visitation schedule, she would have to move to Australia.

If Vergie has joint decision making, then she could try to block a distant move. Grandparents have very little chance of gaining sole custody or joint custody of a grandchild unless there are very serious circumstances, such as abuse or neglect of the child. I don't think that is the case here with Larry. I doubt she has much of a chance. I think she should be happy to get a court ordered visitation schedule. Most grandparents would be very happy to get that.

Larry and Dannielynn Birkhead landed in Louiseville, KY today!