Paris Jackson is taking her fight over her late father’s fortune to a judge. The singer, 28, has asked a Los Angeles court to order Michael Jackson’s estate to pay $600 million into the family trust set up for her and her brothers.
What the Petition Says
According to a court filing first reported by Page Six, the petition was filed on October 29 in Los Angeles Superior Court. Paris argues there is no good reason the money still hasn’t been moved more than 17 years after the King of Pop died in 2009.
The filing says the estate has earned billions of dollars and built up hundreds of millions in cash, yet the Michael Jackson Family Trust meant for Paris and her brothers, Prince, 29, and Bigi, 24, remains unfunded.
Her petition targets the estate’s longtime executor, attorney John Branca, accusing him of keeping an “iron grip” on the siblings by deciding when, and whether, they receive money. Branca first worked for Jackson in 1985, stepped away in 2006 and returned in 2009, shortly before the singer’s death.
The Terms of Michael’s Will
Under Michael’s wishes, his children were supposed to start receiving income from their shares of the trust at 21, then get a third of the principal at 30, half of the rest at 35 and the remainder at 40. Paris says that didn’t happen, and that the siblings instead receive smaller amounts set by the executor.
Prince turns 30 in a few months, Paris turns 29 in April and Bigi turns 25 in February, which puts those milestones close.
The petition also says that when Paris began questioning how the estate was being run last year, she faced aggressive litigation and a multimillion-dollar cut to the money paid to her and her brothers.
The Estate Responds
A spokesperson for the Michael Jackson Estate told Page Six that Paris’ lawyers know the estate can’t fully fund the trusts or its charitable foundation until several legal issues are settled, especially its long-running tax dispute with the IRS, which sought $700 million in taxes and penalties.
A judge will now decide whether to order the early distribution. It’s the latest chapter in a family dispute that has played out in court for more than a year.
Source: Page Six