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A new kind of home improvement©Associated PressApril 10, 2002 LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Most kids look forward to turning 18. But for former Home Improvement star Taran Noah Smith, his birthday Monday meant he was worth $1.5-million. Smith gained access to his trust fund, which he earned while playing the youngest son for eight seasons on the Tim Allen sitcom. When Smith was 16, he began a legal battle with his parents over the money, claiming they were squandering it. He wanted early access to the trust fund and the interest it generated. His parents have denied his accusations. "Things are definitely falling into place," Smith said by phone from Los Angeles, where he and his 33-year-old wife, Heidi Van Pelt of Kansas City, Mo., are staying for a few months. The couple married last year. "Things are going better with my family. We're starting the long road to working things out. They're starting to realize that I'm my own person now and starting to treat me as such." His mother has problems with his wife, though. Smith's attorney, David Scott Whinery, told Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday that there was "a lot of enmity" between the women. Smith, who has lived in Lawrence since August, said he and his wife plan to buy an industrial building there to live in and use as a headquarters for a line of packaged organic foods and tropical foods. They also plan to start a production company for music, television and Internet ventures.
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