Paris Jackson seeks $600 million from Michael Jackson’s estate to go to his three children
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- Michael Jackson’s daughter, Paris, seeks the court’s help in obtaining funds for herself and her two brothers.
- She alleged in a petition that the executors of her father’s estate have failed to transfer funds to the family trust.
Paris Jackson, daughter of late pop icon Michael Jackson, seeks more than half a billion dollars in a preliminary transfer from her father’s estate to a trust for his three children. Jackson alleged in a recent court filing that the funds are overdue and under the “iron grip” of the estate’s executor.
The actor-singer on Thursday accused the executors of her father’s estate of failing to fulfill the singer’s wishes for Prince, Paris and Bigi to begin receiving income from their family trust.
“Michael Jackson’s family trust remains unfunded,” she said in the petition, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court and reviewed by The Times.
According to Paris, executors said in 2011 they would file a petition to begin funding the trust. Allegedly, no such petition has been filed: “Fifteen years later, Michael’s beneficiaries are still waiting.”
A representative for the estate said in a statement shared with The Times that Paris’ legal team is “well aware” that “several legal hurdles,” including litigation with the Internal Revenue Service, stand in the way of transferring those funds. The representative also denied allegations of holding back or reducing payments to the three siblings, dismissing the claims as “complete fabrication.”
Jackson said her father, who died in June 2009, wanted his children to begin receiving money from the estate on each of their 21st birthdays and that each child would also receive “outright principal distributions” from the trust when they each turned 30. Prince and Paris (born to the singer and former wife Debbie Rowe) are 29 and 28, respectively. Bigi is 24 and was born via surrogate.
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“They instead receive lesser amounts dictated by the remaining Executor, who uses this power to deter them from checking his abuses,” Paris’ petition alleges.
The executors for Michael Jackson’s estate began generating liquidity in 2011, including the sale of the singer’s Neverland Ranch in 2020 and the $750-million deal with Sony for intellectual property assets. “Executors have claimed the overall value of the Estate is now between $2 billion and $3 billion,” Paris said in her filing.
“Executor continues to keep each beneficiary beholden to him with an iron grip over when and if monies are distributed to them,” the petition added.
The “sirens” and “evermore” singer also accused the executors of meeting her previous legal challenges with “scorched earth litigation, public attacks, and a multimillion reduction” in money to herself and her siblings.
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Paris also referenced the estate’s ongoing litigation by the IRS in her petition, claiming the case “also appears to be at or nearing its end,” potentially freeing up funds to be transferred to the family trust. The estate said in its statement that “the matter has not been settled and could still change,” despite a ruling to “significantly reduce” a hefty penalty payment.
“Michael Jackson’s will is clear. None of his children receive a distribution until they are in their 30s,” the estate spokesperson said. “The Estate looks forward to the time when all issues are resolved so that their trusts can be fully funded as Michael wanted.”
A spokesperson for Paris responded to the estate’s denial: “The Estate is once again deflecting from its own incompetence. Paris called for the trust to be partially funded, something [executor John Branca] had the ability and obligation to do long ago. After years of delay, Paris had no choice but to step in herself.”
Jackson asks the court to order the executor of her father’s estate to make a preliminary transfer of $600 million, or another amount it deemed fit, to the Michael Jackson Family Trust. The next hearing for this case is scheduled for Wednesday.
