NASSAU, Bahamas, March 7 (UPI) -- A technicality could invalidate the Bahamian birth certificate for Anna Nicole Smith's daughter and possibly force a paternity test, a lawyer said.
A Bahamian judge scheduled a March 16 hearing in the custody case. Claiming to be the baby's father are Smith's ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, and her companion, Howard K. Stern. Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, also filed for custody.
Although Stern is named as the father on the certificate, an attorney signed his name where Stern's signature should be, Bahamian attorney Godfrey Pinder told the Freeport (Bahamas) News.
"In America, the lawyer puts his name there, but in The Bahamas either a parent, someone who witnessed the birth, the midwife, or someone who lives in the house where the baby was born must sign there," Pinder said.
If lawyers in the custody case for the 6-month-old girl discover the discrepancy, they could ask for a new birth certificate and seek a DNA test to determine who the father is, Pinder said.
Pinder is not involved in the paternity matter. He represents South Carolinian G. Ben Thompson, who said he owns the mansion in the Bahamas that Smith and Stern called home.
