Bindi Irwin Must Prove Her Father's Death To Access Her 'Dancing With The Stars' Earnings

She’s dazzled TV audiences with her performances on ‘Dancing With The Stars’ over the last few months, but a legal issue is preventing Bindi Irwin from claiming her payment. A judge has reportedly ruled that she must prove her father, Steve Irwin, is actually dead before receiving the money.

A report from TMZ suggests that a Superior Court Judge in a Los Angeles court has stated that Bindi must provide evidence of her father’s death before she is paid. Her contract for payment, estimated to be $230,000, was handed to a judge as a matter of law and procedure, as Irwin is a minor at 17.

Bindi Irwin must apparently prove her father's death before she can get paid her fee for 'DWTS'

Bindi’s mother Terri signed a waiver to any rights she might have over any money her daughter earned from ‘DWTS’, but the judge also apparently asked to see the same release form signed by Steve Irwin – despite the fact that literally the entire world knows how dumb that sounds.

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Steve Irwin was killed in 2006 when he was attacked by a stingray while snorkelling near Queensland, Australia during filming for a new show he was planning following his legendary ‘Crocodile Hunter’ series. The barb from the animal, which only attacks in self-defense, pierced his thorax and proved fatal, with his passing hitting headlines around the world.

It’s not clear whether his daughter’s lawyers will have to submit a death certificate, or whether the judge in the case simply isn’t aware of Irwin’s death. In any case, the court ruled that it is “unable to find that it is in the best interest of the minor to be bound by the terms of the contract.”

Bindi is still in ‘Dancing With The Stars’, and is apparently guaranteed a fee of $125,000, but that has risen (and is still rising) because of her progress in the competition. If she and her professional dance partner Derek Hough last for a further fortnight, she’ll reportedly earn an extra $50,000 per week.

She’s been dedicating her performances thusfar to the memory of her father. “I hope he would be proud – I really, really do,” she said in an interview on Australian TV this week. “Everything that I do in life is to make him proud and to make sure that everything he worked so hard for carries on.”

More: Bindi Irwin wants to spread her father’s message by appearing on ‘Dancing With The Stars’