Celebrity4 min(s) read
Paris Jackson demands explained as she seeks $600 million from Michael Jackson’s estate to go to his three children
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Paris Jackson has filed a petition for $600 million from her late father Michael Jackson's estate to go to his children.
According to the court filing, obtained by Page Six, the 28-year-old singer is asking a judge to order the estate to make a preliminary distribution of $600 million to the Michael Jackson Family Trust, claiming the longtime executor has kept the children from receiving their inheritance.
Paris's claim says there is no legitimate reason why the money has not been transferred to the trust for her and her brothers, Prince, 29, and Bigi, 24, in over 17 years since Michael's death.
Her filing claims that despite the estate generating billions of dollars, including hundreds of millions in cash, the trust which was earmarked for her and her siblings remains unfunded.
The petition, filed on October 29 in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that the executor, John Branca, retains an "iron grip" over the three children by controlling when and if they receive money from their father's estate.
Branca had initially been hired by Michael in 1985 as an attorney and chairman of the Michael Jackson Company, but resigned over financial matters in 2006, before rejoining eight days before the King of Pop's death in 2009.
According to Michael's will, he had stipulated that his children should start receiving income from their portions of the trust when they reached the age of 21.
Paris claims this never materialized, and that they instead receive smaller sums, with the amounts determined by Branca - also alleging that he uses his control over those payments to discourage the siblings from questioning his handling of the estate.
The filing also claims that when Paris began challenging the estate’s administration last year, including objecting to what she described as Branca’s “non-contractual gifts” to colleagues, she was instead met with a multimillion dollar reduction in the money given to her and her siblings, as well as public attacks and "scorched earth litigation".
The petition adds: "This course of conduct and administration should not continue."
A spokesperson for the Michael Jackson Estate told the outlet: "Ms. Jackson’s counsel is well aware that the Estate is prevented from fully funding the charitable foundation and the individual trusts for the beneficiaries until several legal hurdles have been removed, including in particular the ongoing IRS litigation, where they sought $700 million in taxes and penalties from the Estate.
"While we were able to secure a ruling to significantly reduce that amount, the matter has not been settled and could still change.
"Further, the claim that the executor has withheld or ‘cut’ payments is a complete fabrication. More than $200 million has already been distributed to or for the benefit of Paris and the other beneficiaries."
The statement added that the Estate "looks forward to the time when all issues are resolved so that the charitable foundation and trusts can be fully funded as Michael wanted."
According to the filing, the singer had intended that each of his chidren should receive a third of the principal in their respective trusts when they turned 30, receiving half of their remaining shares at the age of 35, and the rest of the balance deposited when they are 40 years old.
Paris's filing argues that the estate has more than enough funds to pay the trust as well as its outstanding obligations, citing the 2018 sale of its roughly 10% interest in EMI Music Publishing to Sony for $287.5 million and the 2020 sale of Neverland Ranch for $22 million.
It also mentions the 2023 deal with Sony in which the estate received $750 million upfront for a 50% interest in its remaining intellectual property assets, meaning those transactions alone generated over $1 billion in pre-tax, pre-expense liquidity, per the petition.
The estate is said to be valued at between $2-3 billion once gross earnings are added, and as of December 2024, the estate reportedly held approximately $850 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Paris's claim estimates that even after accounting for potential liabilities, around $600 million remains available for distribution, arguing that California law favors distributing estate assets to beneficiaries as soon as it can be done without jeopardizing creditors or other interested parties.
She has asked the court to order Branca to transfer $600 million, or whatever amount the judge determines to be appropriate, to the family trust and is also further seeking reimbursement for her legal fees and costs from estate assets, with the matter scheduled for a hearing in December.