Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris seeks share of estate in court
Photo: Paris Jackson
Seventeen years after the death of pop icon Michael Jackson, disputes over the fair entitlement and distribution of his vast estate remain unresolved. His daughter Paris Jackson has now approached a court in Los Angeles, United States, seeking $600 million from her father’s estate to protect their family trust.
Her main allegation is that although the estate has generated billions of dollars through several major deals since Michael’s death, the trust established for his children has remained virtually unfunded over the past 17 years.
In a petition filed with a Los Angeles court on October 29, Paris Jackson said a family trust had been established for Michael Jackson’s three children, Prince, Paris and Bigi, following their father’s death in 2009.
Under the terms of the trust, the children are supposed to receive income from their respective shares once they turn 21. In addition, specific portions of the principal are to be transferred to them when they reach the ages of 30, 35 and 40.
Although her elder brother Prince is now in his 30s and Paris and Bigi are approaching 29 and 25 respectively, the provisions of their father’s will have yet to be implemented. As a result, they have been forced to depend on John Branca, the sole executor of the estate, who determines when and how much money the children receive as allowances.
According to information provided by Paris’s lawyers, the estate has generated substantial revenue through several major deals in recent years. These include the sale of its stake in EMI Music for $287.5 million in 2018, the sale of the historic Neverland Ranch for $22 million in 2020 and a major deal with Sony Music in 2023 involving the sale of rights to Michael’s music.
After taxes and other associated expenses, these deals generated more than $1 billion in cash inflows for the estate. Its current total market value is estimated at between $2 billion and $3 billion.
Despite having approximately $850 million in cash as of December 2024, the estate did not transfer any money to the trust. The petition also alleges that after Paris raised objections to the management of the estate last year, the allowances provided to her and her siblings were instead reduced by several million dollars.
Rejecting all of Paris’s allegations, representatives of the Michael Jackson estate said a major $700 million legal dispute with US tax authorities remains unresolved. They said it is not possible to transfer a substantial amount of money to the trust before the matter is settled.
The estate also said allegations of withholding money and reducing allowances were fabricated. It added that more than $200 million had already been spent on various benefits for the children. Furthermore, according to Michael’s original will, none of the children can receive a substantial lump sum until they are older than 30.
Against the backdrop of the legal dispute between the two sides, an important hearing on Paris’s petition is scheduled to take place at a Los Angeles court on December 4.
