New Details of Michael Jackson’s Will: Diana Ross Is Backup Guardian
A will values Michael Jackson’s estate at more than $500 million and names Diana Ross as a backup guardian for his children if his mother is unable to provide care.
The 2002 will puts the estate in a family trust, a mechanism that will keep secret many details of Jackson’s assets, the New York Times reports. Court documents say the trust’s primary asset is Jackson’s 50 percent stake in music royalties, including rights to songs by the Beatles, the Washington Post reports.
It is unclear whether the $500 million value put on the estate was from 2002, when the will was signed, or at his death, Reuters reports.
Law professor Edward McCaffery of the University of Southern California at Los Angeles told the Times that the trust “is going to be more opaque to people like you or me” and will help “keep random people out of the woodwork from coming in.”
Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, is not mentioned in the will. Michael Jackson had previously accused his father of physical and emotional abuse, charges denied by Joe Jackson.
Jackson’s ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, has not sought custody. A previous report said Rowe was a surrogate mother rather than the biological mother of Jackson’s two oldest children.
Executors of the will are challenging a previous ruling that gave Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, control of 2,000 items from Neverland, the Washington Post says. Paul Gordon Hoffman, a lawyer for the executors, told a Los Angeles judge that Katherine Jackson’s quick action to gain control of the assets was “a race to the courthouse that is frankly improper,” according to the story.
Additional coverage:
The Wrap: “Confused About the Will? Neverland’s Future? Read On”
