Paris Jackson has demanded that her father Michael Jackson’s estate transfer a trust fund worth a staggering £447 million, which she says has been withheld from her and her siblings
Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris has demanded that $600million (£447million) from her late father’s estate be transferred to a family trust for his children.
The musician, 28, filed a petition at the Los Angeles County Superior Court claiming that since Michael’s death in 2009, his estate has generated billions of dollars.
The petition states: “More than seventeen years after his passing, Michael Jackson’s family trust remains unfunded.”
The trust was established to provide for Michael’s three children, Prince, 29, Paris and Bigi, 24 and the siblings were due to begin receiving income from their respective shares when they turned 21.
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They were also meant to begin receiving portions of the money held for them when they turned 30, with more at the ages of 35 and 40, the filing claimed.
Paris is asking an LA judge to order a partial distribution of the estate’s assets to the Michael Jackson Family Trust.
The singer – dubbed the King of Pop – died aged 50 in June 2009 from acute propofol intoxication, administered by his doctor, Dr Conrad Murray. His death was ruled a homicide.
The documents, which have been viewed by the Mirror, state: “Michael also intended for each sibling to begin receiving outright principal distributions from the Trust on their respective thirtieth birthdays.
“That milestone is fast approaching. Prince turns 30 in four months, Paris turns 29 in April, and Bigi turns 25 in February.”
In the 14-page document, it’s claimed: “With nearly every Court filing, Executors have boasted about how they bucked ‘the conventional approach’ of selling the Estate’s assets after Michael’s death to pay off his debts and claims. As time went on, however, Executors did, in fact, liquidate a substantial portion of Michael’s assets.”
The documents state that the Trust provides that ‘as soon as reasonably practical after the death of Trustor [Michael], the Trustee shall distribute a sum equal to twenty per cent of Trustor’s gross estate, as valued for federal estate tax purposes’ to one or more charitable organisations benefiting children’s causes.
“The remaining assets are split evenly between two separate trusts, the Michael Jackson Children’s Trust and the Katherine Jackson Trust. On Katherine Jackson’s passing, the remaining balance is to be distributed to the Michael Jackson Children’s Trust.”
Katherine, 96, is the mother of Michael and, should she die, any remaining funds from her Trust will be shared with her grandchildren.
Paris, who has followed her father’s footsteps into music, is now asking a judge to order the estate to partially distribute the assets. Her legal team have now argued that business deals and property sales have generated substantial funds for Michael’s estate.
This includes the sale of his Neverland Ranch, which sold for $22 million (£16.3million) in 2020. The petition also notes that the executors of the estate had previously valued Michael’s estate at between $2 and $3billion.
In 2016, Sony Music Holdings exercised its right to purchase the Estate’s interest in Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, which at the time owned the publishing rights to the Beatles catalogue of over 200 songs plus tracks by other artists.
The documents state that as of December 2024, the Estate held around $850 million in cash, or cash-equivalent assets. They add that Paris was informed that, even after accounting for potential liabilities, the Estate has approximately $600 million in distributable cash, excluding any cash held at the entity level.
The petitioner, Paris, demands that the court make “a preliminary distribution of Estate assets to the Michael Jackson Family Trust in the amount of $600 million, or such amount as determined by the Court to be appropriate and reasonable” minus fees and costs.
When approached by the Mirror, the Estate of Michael Jackson said: “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 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.”
Paris’ team told the Mirror: “The Estate is once again deflecting from its own incompetence. Paris called for the trust to be partially funded, something Mr. Branca had the ability and obligation to do long ago. After years of delay, Paris had no choice but to step in herself.”
The Mirror has approached both the Estate’s representatives.
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