$600 Million Showdown: Michael Jackson’s Estate Executors Refusing to Pay Pop Star’s Mom $500k Legal Bill as She Fights to Block Music Catalog Sale
Katherine is fighting in court.
Mar. 12 2024, Published 9:47 a.m. ET
The war between Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine and the two executors running his estate has heated up.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, lawyers for the executors, John Branca and John McClain, asked the court to shut down Katherine’s recent demand for $500k.
Katherine said Michael would not have wanted the sale.
As we first reported, Katherine filed a motion asking that she be reimbursed $561,548. She said she spent the amount on a team of lawyers to fight the executors over the sale of Michael’s music catalog.
The executors asked the court to approve the music catalog sale in 2022. Katherine quickly opposed the deal. The parties went back and forth in court for months until a hearing was held on the matter.
At the hearing, Katherine testified that Michael did not want the music catalog sold and that he considered it a lifeline. Michael’s children Paris and Blanket told the court they opposed the deal too. Blanket said he opposed on emotional grounds.
The executors fired back claiming Katherine has a pattern of objecting to lucrative deals. They argued the market was hot for the music catalog sale and they needed to take advantage of it.
The estate said it had every right to make the deal.
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“The Estate was teetering on the verge of collapse, with more than $400 million in debt that encumbered Michael’s most significant assets and little or no liquidity or means to service that debt. Through creative thinking, hard work and business savvy—and, of course, Michael’s extraordinary creative legacy—the Executors transformed the MJJ Business into a profitable enterprise,” the executors said as they argued for the deal to be approved.
Despite the family’s plea, the judge approved the executors’ deal and allowed them to move forward with the sale.
Within weeks, Katherine had filed an appeal of the decision. She argued the executors did not have the authority to sell Michael’s assets.
Recently, the executors argued that Katherine’s appeal should be dismissed. They said they had every right to sell the catalog. No decision has been reached on the appeal.
Katherine has demanded $561k for legal fees.
On February 9, 2024, the estate announced they sold one half of Jackson’s music to Sony for $600 million — a deal that Katherine said should not have gone through.
As part of the appeal, Katherine won a couple of small victories against the estate. As a result, she asked the court to award her the $561k in legal fees.
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Now, the executors asked the court to deny the motion for legal fees. In their motion, they argued, “The Petition does not indicate the source from which Mrs. Jackson’s counsel seeks to have the requested attorney’s fees and expenses paid. It is not clear whether she is seeking payment from the probate estate or from the Trust.”
Further, the executors argued, “To the extents Mrs. Jackson seeks payment from the probate estate, the Petition lacks merit because it relies on provisions of the Trust, claiming that payment of legal fees is required by provisions of the Trust authorizing the Trustees to make payments “in [their] absolute discretion, for [Mrs. Jackson’s] care, support, maintenance, comfort and well-being.”
A judge has yet to rule.