Paris Jackson has officially filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court asking for a $600 million preliminary distribution from the Michael Jackson Family Trust. In the October 29 filing, she claims executor John Branca has maintained an“iron grip”over the inheritance that she, Prince, and Bigi were supposed to receive, and she argues her father’s will clearly stated the children would get income from their trust portions at age 21.
The numbers on the estate side are staggering. It has generated more than $2.5 billion in gross earnings through December 2024 and held roughly $850 million in cash, boosted by a $750 million Sony catalog sale in 2023. The estate’s response counters that unresolved legal matters, including ongoing IRS litigation, are blocking a full distribution, and calls the claim that payments were withheld or cut“a complete fabrication.”
A hearing is scheduled for December, where a judge will weigh Paris’s request for the distribution plus legal fees. It’s one of the highest-stakes family estate disputes in entertainment, and the outcome could influence how trusts tied to celebrity estates are funded going forward. Do you think the court should side with Paris or with the estate’s timeline?
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Local Lawton
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