Mother loses bid to control Michael Jackson estate

Mother loses bid to control Michael Jackson estate

Katherine Jackson concerned son's will names lawyer, friend to oversee empire

Jul 07, 2009 04:30 AM

Jesse Washington
ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES – The legal manoeuvring that marked Michael Jackson's extraordinary and troubled life continued yesterday, with his mother losing a bid to control his enormous but tangled estate.

In Los Angeles Superior Court, a judge appointed Jackson's long-time lawyer and a family friend as administrators of his estate over the objections of his mother, Katherine. Lawyer John Branca and music executive John McClain had been designated in Jackson's 2002 will as the people he wanted to oversee his empire.

Katherine Jackson's lawyers expressed concerns about McClain and Branca's financial leadership.

"Frankly, Mrs. Jackson has concerns about handing over the keys to the kingdom," said one of her lawyers, John E.

Schreiber.

Another one of her lawyers, Burt Levitch, told Judge Mitchell Beckloff that Branca had previously been removed from financial positions of authority by Jackson. Branca's lawyer said he was rehired by Jackson on June 17, days before Jackson's death.

Branca and McClain will have to post a $1 million bond on the estate and their authority will expire Aug. 3, when another hearing will be held.

Jackson's family had wanted Beckloff to delay the appointment of McClain and Branca as temporary administrators of the pop superstar's estate, a person close to the Jacksons said.

The family wanted more time to look deeper into Jackson's affairs, to see if another will emerges and to accommodate Jackson's memorial service, said a person close to the family who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Katherine Jackson's lawyers also had asked that she be appointed to serve as a co-administrator with Branca and McClain. Beckloff refused to grant that request, too.

Lawyers also disclosed that another Jackson will from 1997 has been lodged with the court but will only become a factor if the 2002 will is invalidated. Details of the older will were not disclosed.

The judge granted Branca and McClain several powers over the estate, including the rights to negotiate a settlement with concert promoter AEG Live over refunds for Jackson's cancelled London shows. Beckloff stressed that Katherine Jackson should be given complete information about major transactions, but that he as the judge would grant final approval.

Michael Jackson owned a 50 per cent stake in the massive Sony-ATV Music Publishing catalogue, which includes music by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Lady Gaga and the Jonas Brothers.

Branca had a 5 per cent interest in the catalogue in September 2005, but his interest was terminated in December 2007.

Katherine Jackson's lawyers had argued in court that she needed to be special administrator of the estate to be able to determine if Branca and McClain had other dealings with Jackson or his partners that could be construed as a conflict of interest.

Paul Gordon Hoffman, a lawyer for Branca and McClain, said some of Katherine Jackson's concerns were unfounded.

"We're not aware of any real conflicts at all," he said in response to a claim that the men may have business dealings with parties such as concert promoter AEG Live.

In contrast, Hoffman said Jackson's mother had more of a potential conflict administering the estate because she is a likely beneficiary.

"We're getting off to a bit of a rocky start here out of the gate," Beckloff said toward the end of yesterday's hearing.

L. Londell McMillan, Katherine Jackson's main lawyer, said after the hearing that he did not expect a protracted fight.

"We have no reason to believe this is going to turn into a nasty fight over millions and millions of dollars," McMillan said.

Also yesterday, Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife and the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, backed out of attending today's star-studded memorial in Los Angeles.

"The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy," her lawyer, Marta Almli, said in a statement. "Debbie will continue to celebrate Michael's memory privately."

Also mourning privately is Jackson's friend Elizabeth Taylor. She said on her Twitter feed that she would not attend. "I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others," she tweeted. "How I feel is between us. Not a public event."

The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday a private family service will take place at 8 a.m. at Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills. The service will take place about two hours before the grand public memorial featuring Kobe Bryant, Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder and others starts at the Staples Center downtown.

No public funeral procession through city streets was scheduled and it was not known whether Jackson's body would be at the Staples Center memorial.

In a symbolic convergence of events, however, the circus will be there. Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey starts a run at Staples Center tomorrow. In the predawn hours before Jackson's memorial, the elephants will walk from the train station to the arena.