NASSAU, Bahamas – Anna Nicole Smith is house-hunting in the Bahamas, where a former boyfriend is seeking to oust her from a waterfront home where she has taken refuge since the death of her son.
Under consideration are homes in Eleuthera, Grand Bahama and elsewhere in the archipelago for the reality TV star, her newborn daughter and companion Howard K. Stern, Smith attorney Wayne Munroe said Monday.
Smith, who came to the Bahamas during her pregnancy, used the house in Nassau as the basis for her application for permanent residency. In the event a court rules against her in the ownership dispute, Munroe said Smith wants to make sure she has no problem meeting a condition that she owns a home worth at least $500,000.
"Out of an abundance of caution, she intends to be in the position that there is no question that she owns a house in the Bahamas worth half a million dollars," Munroe said.
Click Here for the Anna Nicole Smith Celebrity Center
Stern recently looked at a property on the island of Eleuthera. The couple are considering homes on other islands, but it has been difficult for the 38-year-old Smith to travel because she is home with her 2-month-old daughter, Munroe said.
G. Ben Thompson, a South Carolina businessman who claims Smith has not honored an agreement to pay the mortgage on the Nassau house, escalated their feud Friday by having the power cut off at the home known as "Horizons." The electric utility restored power after a matter of hours and is reviewing the request, Munroe said.
Thompson's Bahamian attorney, Emerick Knowles, said the tactic was warranted because Smith has refused multiple requests to vacate the property.
"Mr. Thompson is the owner of the property and it is being unlawfully occupied by Ms. Anna Nicole Smith," Knowles said.
Munroe criticized the measure as a mean-spirited stunt.
"They're trying shenanigans that are totally inappropriate with a woman at home with a newborn child," he said. "Nobody seems to have any regard for this child."
Smith said she was seeking privacy when she came to the Bahamas in July. The former Playboy Playmate gave birth to a daughter, Dannielynn, on Sept. 7. Three days later, Smith's 20-year-old son Daniel died while visiting his mother in the hospital.
A private medical examiner has said that Daniel Smith died from a combination of methadone and antidepressants. Results of an official autopsy and a police investigation have not been released.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox