Mom retains temporary control of Michael Jackson’s estate
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff has denied a request by the executors of Michael Jackson's estate to remove Katherine Jackson as temporary administrator. The judge said the matter could be taken up at a previously scheduled hearing Monday.
Michael Jackson's 2002 will appoints John Branca, the performer’s longtime entertainment attorney and advisor, and music executive and family friend John McClain as executors of the estate.
A third executor, Barry Siegel, resigned from consideration in 2003, according to a statement released by Branca’s representatives.
The will bears Jackson’s signature and many paragraphs of the five-page document are initialed “MJ.”
In a statement, Branca and McClain said, “The most important element of Michael’s will is his unwavering desire that his mother, Katherine, become the legal guardian for his three children. As we work to carry out Michael’s instructions to safeguard both the future of his children as well as the remarkable legacy he left us as an artist, we ask that all matters involving his estate be handled with the dignity and the respect that Michael and his family deserve.”
Branca began representing Jackson when the entertainer was 21 and guided him through the most successful period of his life, including the release of “Thriller” and his purchase of rights to a music catalog that includes the work of the Beatles and was Jackson’s biggest asset.
McClain is one of the founders of Interscope Records and, according to the executors’ statement, has a 40-year relationship with the Jackson family. The will directs that all of Jackson’s assets be put in an entity called the Michael Jackson Family Trust.
-- Harriet Ryan
Photo: Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine, departs the family's Encino home as media and fans gathered along barricades on Monday morning. Credit: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times
