Michael Jackson Estate War Escalates as Paris Jackson Takes Aim at Private Jet Spending — Prompting Executor's Furious Response
Paris Jackson is asking a court to order $600 million from her dad’s estate into the family trust for her and her brothers
Nov. 6 2026, Published 10:21 a.m. ET
Paris Jackson is challenging the financial management of her late father Michael Jackson's estate, questioning millions of dollars in expenses and demanding a more detailed account of how its money has been spent.
In a new court filing, the 28-year-old singer's attorneys objected to an accounting submitted by longtime executor John Branca, raising concerns about private jet travel, legal fees, consulting payments, and millions of dollars in other expenses.
The estate has pushed back against the allegations, defending Branca's management and pointing to the billions of dollars generated since the King of Pop's death.
The latest dispute adds to an increasingly contentious legal battle over the estate's finances and comes as Paris separately seeks a $600 million transfer into a family trust for herself and her brothers, Prince and Bigi.
Paris Questions Private Jet Spending and Estate Expenses
She accused executor John Branca of using estate money for personal private jet trips and other personal expenses
According to documents obtained by TMZ and reported on November 4, Paris' attorneys challenged an accounting Branca submitted in April 2026 covering the estate's finances for 2022.
They argued that the report did not provide sufficient information about 18 businesses owned by the estate.
Her legal team also questioned expenses involving private jet travel, alleging that Branca used estate resources for personal trips and travel connected to his other clients and business interests.
The filing claimed that certain expenses were reimbursed only after Paris' attorneys investigated them.
The attorneys took particular issue with the nature of some of the travel, writing: "Where the travel is of a purely personal nature, or in service of Mr. Branca's other clients or business affairs, it constitutes outright theft."
The accounting also drew scrutiny over $604,850.09 in credit card and law firm charges, $3,827,520.20 in legal fees and $9,415,074 in compensation paid to Branca and the late co-executor John McClain.
Paris' attorneys further questioned why more than $440 million was held in low-yield bank accounts. They also raised concerns about public relations spending and consulting payments, including fees paid to Harvard Business School professor James Sebenius.
Estate Fires Back at Paris's Allegations
Paris’s team called the private jet spending “outright theft” and a breach of his duties to the beneficiaries
The estate rejected Paris' objections, arguing that her legal team had overlooked the unusual demands of managing Michael's business interests and the expenses involved in operating the enterprise.
"Once again, Ms. Jackson's legal team raises the same hollow complaints and fails to acknowledge the unique structure of the Estate, which is operated as a dynamic business, with customary costs and expenses," an estate representative told TMZ.
The spokesperson also defended the financial results achieved under Branca and McClain's leadership.
"No rhetoric can hide the fact that the Executors have taken an Estate that was $500 million in debt when Michael died and turned it into the most successful Estate in history, producing $3 billion in revenue and the biggest biopic in movie history, with a box office exceeding $1 billion globally," the representative added.
The $3 billion figure is the estate's claimed revenue since Michael's death, rather than its net profit. Paris' objections ask the court to reject the accounting and require a more complete financial report.
A hearing on the objections is scheduled for December 7.
Dispute Also Involves $600 Million Family Trust
The estate has generated billions since Michael Jackson died in 2009
In an October 29 petition, she asked a Los Angeles court to order a preliminary transfer of $600 million, or another amount the judge considers appropriate, into the Michael Jackson Family Trust.
Her attorneys argued that the trust has remained unfunded for more than 17 years, despite the substantial wealth generated by their father's estate.
"What is clear is that, as more and more cash became available, the Michael Jackson Children's Trust remained wholly unfunded," the filing stated, according to TheWrap's reporting.
Paris also pointed to the estate's available cash, arguing that a partial distribution could be made while leaving sufficient funds to cover outstanding obligations.
The estate disputes her characterization of the situation. Its representatives have said that more than $200 million has already been distributed or spent for the beneficiaries' benefit. They also cited unresolved legal matters, particularly an ongoing IRS dispute involving a potential $700 million tax and penalty liability, as a reason the trusts cannot yet be fully funded.
The petition has been set for a December 4 hearing.
Earlier Ruling Added to the Tensions
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Branca’s side says the estate went from heavy debt to one of the most successful ever and has already paid over $200 million to the beneficiaries
In May 2026, retired judge Mitchell Beckloff ordered $625,000 in bonuses paid to three outside law firms in 2018 to be returned to the estate. The ruling followed Paris' objections to the payments and her arguments that they lacked adequate justification.
"The bonus amounts paid appear arbitrary — what Mr. Branca determined was appropriate," Beckloff wrote, according to Rolling Stone.
The estate disagreed with the decision but said it would respect the ruling. It also stressed that the disputed bonuses had gone to outside law firms, not the executors themselves.
The decision added to Paris' efforts to obtain greater oversight of the estate's financial practices. With separate hearings scheduled for December 4 and December 7, the court will now consider her demands involving the family trust and the disputed 2022 accounting.
A further development emerged on November 4, when a Los Angeles judge granted Branca's request to keep certain financial information confidential.
According to Page Six, the order covered portions of filings involving legal fees, costs, and estate accounting. The ruling did not establish that Paris' objections were unfounded or resolve the underlying dispute.
