Posted on 07/06/2009 11:09:25 AM PDT by lewisglad
Pool Photographer/Getty Images
The keys to Michael Jackson's kingdom have just been ripped from his mother's hands.
Over the objections of Katherine Jackson, a Los Angeles probate judge today ruled that Michael Jackson's 2002 will is indeed valid and that, per the King of Pop's wishes, attorney John Branca and veteran music executive John McClain are executors of his estate.
Lawyers for Jackson's mother wanted Judge Mitchell Beckloff to delay the decision. One of her lawyers, John Schreiber, argued that "there is concern over handing over the keys to the kingdom so quickly."
Her attorneys also suggested that because McClain suffers from a disability, he is unfit to make decisions on Michael's estate, which is estimated to be worth more than $500 million.
But Beckloff refused, telling Schreiber "someone needs to be at the helm of the ship."
Katherine Jackson had been appointed temporary executor last week, when the family still believed the star had died without a will.
But then Branca surfaced with a five-page document written seven years ago, establishing him and McClain as executors, splitting the state among his mother, three children and charities, dissing ex-wife Debbie Rowe and giving Katherine custody of his kids.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, a close friend of the Jackson clan, appeared on Good Morning America today and lashed out at Beckloff for holding the hearing a day before the pop icon is to be laid to rest.
"I think it has been very insensitive, particularly to this family, that you would even schedule a court hearing on the status of the mother the day before she has to go to the cemetery for her son," Sharpton said. "I mean, it's almost insulting."
Beckloff said that he believed Branca and McClain would act in the best interest of the estate and be best equipped to sort through various complicated legal and financial problems, ranging from lingering IOUs and lawsuits to the fate of Jackson's biggest asset, his 50 percent stake in the Beatles' song catalog.
The next hearing in the probate case is set for Aug. 3.
ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
inseeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnsssssiiiiittttiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeee
Sharpton is a professional (and highly paid) clown.
Where else in the world can you be born a poor black boy and die a rich white woman.
The three kids end up with the cash in the end. It’ll challenge the Jackson family to be ‘cool’ for the next five to ten years....and not screw up their relationship with the the three kids. I think the kids could easily wind up with $200 million each by age 21 each.
“I think it has been very insensitive, particularly to this family, that you would even schedule a court hearing on the status of the mother the day before she has to go to the cemetery for her son,” Sharpton said. “I mean, it’s almost insulting.”
And nobody knows more about reverence, diplomacy and decorum than Al Sharpton!
Thank God the judge gave control to these two lawyers. I’m sure they’ll take care of MJ’s kids, but the rest of that family sure wouldn’t know how to handle things. I think a few of them are in bankruptcies of their own.
It will be interesting to see how money is left in the estate after all the lawyers get done contesting the will. Every relative will claim a piece of the pie and in the end there may be very little to go around as the lawyers and administration fees will consume a good portion.
I will relegate this to the, "who gives a rats @$$" department
Why isn’t greasy Al Sharpton in jail for not paying the IRS, as all of us would be had we racked up hundreds of thousands of delinquent tax bills? Does being a loud-mouth racial minority exempt one from jail time now?
I'd bet that the estate is insolvent. The whole point of the upcoming "World Tour" was to put Jackson back into solvency or approaching solvency. Sony will end up owning the whole Beatles Catalog which, according to rumor, Jackson willed back to Paul McCartney. Jackson was broke.
CNN has said his estate is worth way more and will easily cover his debt. The record sales this past week should knock out quite a few bills.
Considering history, it’s too bad the judge wasn’t able to send the kids to a more stable home environment and far, far away from the grandparents.
I agree. They were milking their son, as were his Nation of Islam protectors. His children will need someone to look after the assets willed to them.
What Is Michael Jackson’s Estate Worth?By Robert Frank
It’s well known that Michael Jackson died with piles of debt.
Despite his millions of records sold, he spent money faster than an Arab prince, but without the recurring oil income. A recent article by Ethan Smith in the Wall Street Journal said Mr. Jackson had debts of up to $500 million.
Still, Mr. Jackson made one smart financial bet during his life: buying the 50% interest in a music publishing catalog that includes the rights to 251 Beatles’ songs. Estimates for that stake range from $500 million to $1 billion, if you also include the rights to his own songs.
From here, the notion that a funeral should be made into a public spectacle is simply baffling to me.
It simply does not compute!
If I were King, these shenanigans would have been over last week.
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