A court order will be needed to release the body of Anna Nicole Smith for burial, Broward County, Fla., Medical Examiner Joshua Perper said.

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Smith's companion, Howard K. Stern, asked Perper on Tuesday to release Smith's remains to him, the Miami Herald said. Stern's attorney said he wanted to honor Smith's wishes to be buried in the Bahamas next to her son, Daniel, who died Sept. 10.

But an attorney for Smith's estranged mother, Vergie Arthur, called Perper and asked that Smith's body be released to Arthur. Perper said he told both parties "it will take a court order."

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Meanwhile, a Broward County judge ordered Smith's body remain in Perper's custody until a California court determines how and when to conduct paternity tests sought by Larry Birkhead, who claims to be the father of Smith's 5-month-old baby. A paternity hearing in California is scheduled Feb. 20.

The order does not prevent Smith's body from being embalmed. Perper said he collected enough DNA samples for court-related matters.

Smith died Feb. 8 in a Hollywood, Fla., hospital where she was taken after being found unresponsive in a hotel room.