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The $1bn will behind Jacko family war
July 29, 2012, 10:04:49 AM
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The $1bn will behind Jacko family war and how the star's fortunes have created rivalry between brothers, sisters, children, mother and lawyers
By CAROLINE GRAHAM
PUBLISHED: 20:08 EST, 28 July 2012 | UPDATED: 09:06 EST, 29 July 2012


The world has looked on in shock during recent weeks as Michael Jackson’s family have become mired in a dramatic, and very public, feud.

There have been startling allegations of kidnap and criminal fraud, and even a fight in the family home that was described as being ‘like something from Jerry Springer’.
At the heart of the conflict is a dispute over Jackson’s will, and now The Mail on Sunday can reveal its detailed contents.

Previously a closely guarded secret, the document controls an estate worth $1 billion (£635 million) that is growing by the day.

In it, we learn what has pitched Jackson’s children, mother and lawyers against his siblings. It reveals how Jackson, who died three years ago, excluded his brothers and sisters from the estate – and so distrusted them that he preferred to appoint his mother Katherine and even Diana Ross as guardian of his children.

The document also asserted that Jackson was of ‘sound mind’, in stark contrast to speculation over his sanity during his eccentric life.When the singer died of an overdose of surgical anaesthetic in 2009, his finances were in chaos.

Catastrophic investments, a career compromised by scandal, uncontrolled spending and lavish gifts to family and friends had left him £250 million in the red.

But a posthumous boom in Jackson’s record sales and the continued income from the Beatles back catalogue – which he bought in 1985 – sparked a financial bonanza that is now bringing in hundreds of millions a year.

The terms of Jackson’s will left sole control of his estate to two lawyers – his longtime attorney, the flamboyant John Branca, and John McClain, a music executive at Interscope Records.

Michael’s brothers and sisters were shocked when the regular cash handouts they had been receiving stopped after his death and they found the will made no provision for them.
Instead, 40 per cent of the net income goes to Katherine, 82, who after Michael’s death was named guardian of his three children. Prince Michael, 15, Paris, 14, and Blanket, ten, share a further 40 per cent. The remaining 20 per cent goes to his chosen charities.

The unhappiness of Michael’s siblings at the will was, perhaps, initially tempered by the knowledge that Branca and McClain had to manage crippling debt. But the pair have turned the estate around, earning themselves many millions in the process. The siblings have expressed growing anger.

A family source said: ‘The main issue is that the lawyers who are executors receive ten per cent of the estate in fees between them. That is what grates and is behind last week’s shenanigans.’
The three children’s share is in trust until they turn 21, when they will receive the monthly interest payments directly. At 35, they will receive half the capital that is set to come to them, and, at 40, the outstanding half.

The estate currently pays for the rent of Katherine’s home, the sprawling £8 million family compound in Calabasas in the hills above LA, and all school and medical fees. It also provides an allowance of £50,000 a month for the three children.

Jackson set up the trust in 1995 and linked it to his will in 2002. But a letter to Branca and McClain made public last week and signed by Michael’s siblings Randy, Janet, Jermaine, Rebbie and Tito claims the will was ‘fake, flawed and fraudulent’.

They wrote: ‘Our brother told us, in no uncertain terms and without hesitation in the months prior to his death, that he despised [the executors] and he did not want either of you to have anything to do with his life or estate for that matter.’

Michael’s brother Randy believes that the executors have engaged in what he describes as ‘criminal’ activity, saying: ‘Anyone who stands  up to the executors is denied access to my mother.’ He claimed that the will was marked as being signed in  LA at a time when Michael was in New York.

The estate executors immediately branded the charges ‘false and defamatory’ and said the discrepancy was due to a clerical error, nothing more.

LA-based entertainment lawyer Royal Oakes said last night: ‘Ten per cent is a normal fee for the executors. What you’re talking here  is sour grapes. Clearly some family members resent outsiders being brought in to manage the family  fortune, even though these outsiders have done a great job.’

The bitter dispute has led to the extraordinary recent events. Katherine’s children have come to believe she was being manipulated by the singer’s legal team.

Earlier this month, she disappeared for ten days, and there were reports claiming she had been drugged and kidnapped by her children and taken to Arizona, where her daughter Rebbie and other relatives live.

As a result of her prolonged absence, custody of the children has now been given to TJ Jackson, the 35-year-old son of Michael’s brother Tito, who already lives at Calabasas and who a judge ruled should look after his cousins.

In Michael’s will, Diana Ross is named as guardian in the event of Katherine being unable to fulfil the role, but the former Supremes star is said to support TJ being appointed.

There was further drama last week, when Randy, Janet and Jermaine apparently burst into the Calabasas home, demanding that the children come with them. Police were called and ‘two male adults became violent’, according to police officers.

The angry confrontation on Monday, caught on security camera, included Janet Jackson confronting Paris and allegedly calling her ‘a spoiled little bitch’.

A Jackson family member described it as ‘like trying to get into  a nightclub and having lots of big bouncers tell you, “You can’t come in,” ’ adding: ‘Janet and Jermaine went to the house and TJ came downstairs. Then he started ripping into Jermaine and  he tore the shirt off Randy’s back.

‘There was lots of pushing and  shoving and grappling. It was like something out of Jerry Springer. It got real ugly. The sheriffs were called. There’s video of the whole thing. Janet didn’t get involved in the fight but she was holding her iPhone and recording it.’
In the early hours of Thursday, Katherine returned home with Janet and Rebbie and son Jermaine.
She walked slowly to the front door and Paris raced down the spiral staircase into her grandmother’s open arms. Janet, Rebbie and Jemaine stayed outside in their car, barred from entering by security guards.

Michael’s son Prince has since denounced his aunts and uncles and accused them of lying to Katherine.

He tweeted: ‘Although I am happy my grandma was returned, after speaking with her I realised how misguided and how badly she was lied to. I’m really angry and hurt.

'As long as I can remember my dad had warned me of certain people and their ways. For this whole time, they denied us contact to our grandmother. If you continue with your lies I will continue with the truth.’

Katherine said: ‘I am devastated that while I’ve been away, my grandchildren have been taken from me.’

On Friday she broke her silence to deny the claims, and the family say she was taking a well-earned break at a health spa, rather than being held against her will with her mobile phone confiscated.

Lawyers are set to work all weekend in preparation for a custody hearing tomorrow, at which Katherine will ask for her official custodian status to be reinstated.

And the estate lawyers are also squaring up for a fight. Branca, 62, is a colourful character and well-known in Hollywood. The son of a showgirl, he has worked with everyone from the Rolling Stones to Aerosmith, and is said to have a razor-sharp mind.

‘He worked for Michael for 29 years,’ said a friend.

‘He helped him negotiate the purchase of the Beatles catalogue. It’s the investment which is the cash cow today. They fell out, but Michael brought him back into the fold towards the end of his life. Michael trusted that man probably more than anyone else.’
McClain, 57, has known the Jacksons for many years. Said to be a shy, modest man, he helped launch Janet Jackson’s career and also founded Interscope Records, whose artists include 50 Cent and Eminem.


Now, with the dispute escalating over the will, Branca and McClain are ready for a fight and have hired their own lawyer, Howard Weitzman.

He said: ‘Any doubts about the validity of Michael’s will and selection of executors were thoroughly debunked two years ago when a challenge  [by the siblings] was rejected by  the Los Angeles Superior Court, California Court of Appeals and the California Supreme Court.’

Royal Oakes believes Branca and McClain will see off the challenge. He said: ‘The judge will always decide what is in the children’s best interests. The judge will also talk to the children to ensure that they have their say about who they want in charge of their welfare. There is a slim-to-none chance of Michael Jackson’s will being overturned.’

But a family source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘This dispute is because we believe that the estate – Branca, McClain and TJ – are not giving the best advice to Katherine. People who are outside the family are continuing to exploit the family and earn millions off of the Jackson name.’

Defending the lawyers, a legal source said: ‘Branca and McClain took over a bankrupt entity and turned it around. They deserve every penny of the ten per cent. When Michael died, he was half a billion bucks in debt.

‘Branca and McClain paid off all his debts and have turned Michael Jackson Inc into a major money-spinner. Michael’s brothers and sisters leached off him in life and are trying to in death. Sadly his kids and mother have been caught in the middle.’

Summing up the row, a Jackson family member said last night: ‘This week has been a PR disaster for the family. If the world thought we were nuts before, they know it for sure now. And it is all over the oldest thing in the book – money.’


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You rocked my world, you know you did
And everything I own I give
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Re: The $1bn will behind Jacko family war
July 29, 2012, 10:32:21 AM
Thye will is fake and invalid. The reason  is invalid is because it does not state Michael Jackson's true birth name which is Michael Joe Jackson. I agree with Randy when he says the will is fake and invalid. There needs to be a contest on the Will from Katherine Jackson. Michael Jackson did not have a will, but he did have a trust.
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RK

Re: The $1bn will behind Jacko family war
July 29, 2012, 10:44:08 AM
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Now, with the dispute escalating over the will, Branca and McClain are ready for a fight and have hired their own lawyer, Howard Weitzman.
Weitzman? We were looking at him again just last week in Twiggy and Mr Wagner's video.  About his part in the '93 allegations.
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Quote from: RK on July 23, 2012, 12:48:22 AM
Thanks for posting 2Good......Pellicano, Fields and Weitzman. How I've longed to understand exactly who was behind that initial set up of Michael in '93.  Twiggy said this is far bigger than we all thought. I think she has that right.




   

No....Not naming anyone in particular here....'cept maybe Weitzman...and he was working on behalf of some other big fish or should I say sharks.[/quote]
Last Edit: July 29, 2012, 10:59:27 AM by RK
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