Anna Nicole Smith Love Rivals Come Together to Close Estate & Guardian Battle  6/20/07

The men who once battled for Anna Nicole Smith's baby daughter have now agreed to work together as executors of the tragic actress' estate and guardians of her child.

Four months after Smith's death, a Los Angeles judge has named the actress'

longtime companion, Howard K. Stern, the executor of her estate and baby Dannielynn's biological father, Larry Birkhead, guardian of the little girl.

The two men, who have become unlikely friends, met in court yesterday (19Jun07) to finalize the details of Smith's estate.

Attorneys will return to court later this year to review Smith's assets, which Stern has estimated at $710,000.

There was one slight hiccup in the proceedings yesterday, when Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff confessed his concern about a clause in Smith's 2001 will, which disinherits any children born after her son, Daniel.

Daniel Smith died last September (06), three days after his baby sister was born.

Smith's attorney Bruce Ross told the court he would prove at future hearings that the clause is "extraordinary and improperly drafted" and should not stand.

Meanwhile, following on from yesterday's court decision, Anna Nicole's estranged mother Virgie Arthur has been given 120 days to contest both her daughter's will and Birkhead's role of guardian to her granddaughter.