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Paris Jackson Demands $600M from Father's Estate in Legal Battle
· Confirmed
In Short: Paris Jackson is suing the Michael Jackson estate, demanding $600 million be transferred to a family trust.
Paris Jackson, 28, is taking legal action against the Michael Jackson estate, demanding that $600 million be transferred to a family trust for her and her brothers, Prince and Bigi.
Jackson's petition claims that the estate has generated gross earnings of over $2.5 billion since 2009, with the current estate value between $2 billion and $3 billion.
Jackson argues that the estate's sole executor, attorney John Branca, has been withholding funds contrary to her father's wishes. She says Michael Jackson intended for his children to receive income from the family trust when they turned 21.
Jackson's legal team asserts that the estate's current management is not in the best interest of the beneficiaries, especially as they approach their thirties and are set to receive principal distributions.
Branca has held the position of executor since 2009, and Jackson's petition highlights his compensation, which she claims is excessive. She wants his compensation reduced from 15 percent to 10 percent of the estate's gross entertainment-related income.
Jackson's petition also notes that the estate has not disclosed accounting for 2022, 2023, 2024, or 2025, suggesting that the executors are delaying these disclosures to keep the estate open indefinitely.
Jackson's legal team argues that the estate's current management is not aligned with Michael Jackson's intentions and that the estate's liquidity has been mismanaged, with over $464 million held in cash generating returns of less than 0.1%.
Jackson's legal team claims that the executors have enriched themselves at the expense of the beneficiaries, with Branca and McClain receiving over $120 million for their work over 13 years.
The estate has rejected Jackson's claims, citing Branca's role in transforming an estate burdened by roughly $500 million in debt into a business now valued at more than $2 billion.
Jackson's legal battle with the estate has been ongoing, with previous court rulings in her favor, such as the return of $625,000 in bonuses paid to outside law firms.
The estate's response to Jackson's latest petition is strongly worded, calling her request 'nonsensical' and 'absurd,' and arguing that her objections are a waste of the court's time and the estate's money.
Democrat Troy Jackson has defeated longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, NBC News projects, padding the Senate majority his party won in the midterm elections.
What this adds
The legal battle highlights the ongoing tension between Jackson and the estate's management, with Jackson alleging mismanagement and the estate defending its actions as necessary for the estate's financial health.
What's confirmed
- The sole executor of the estate is attorney and manager John Branca, who has held the position since 2009.
- She is taking the estate to court and demanding Branca begin distributing funds to the Michael Jackson Family Trust.
- "Without belaboring the point, when Paris began challenging the administration of the Estate last year through her objection to Executor Branca’s non-contractual gifts to his colleagues, her challenges were met with scorched earth litigation, public attacks, and a multimillion reduction in monies provided to her and her siblings by the Estate," her legal team wrote.
- Paris Jackson is asking a Los Angeles judge to order $600 million transferred from her late father Michael Jackson's estate into a family trust for her and her two brothers, accusing longtime executor John Branca of withholding control over their inheritance more than 17 years after the singer's death.
- The estate has rejected those claims, citing Branca's role in transforming an estate burdened by roughly $500 million in debt into a business it now values at more than $2 billion.
- According to the docs, Paris has also suggested the MJ estate remains open after all these years due to how the executor has been managing things and said she remains largely in the dark about the estate's financial matters... but John fires back that these claims ignore the realities of the situation.
- Paris said John and the recently deceased John McClain were paid over $120 million for their work on the estate over 13 years … which is a far cry from what she says she and her two brothers have received since their dad died.
- In a petition filed Thursday, October 29, 2026, Jackson, 28, claims the estate has accumulated enough cash to begin funding the trust intended for her, Prince, 29, and Bigi, 24.
What's still developing
- "Ms. Jackson’s counsel is well aware that the Estate is prevented from fully funding the philanthropic giving and 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," a statement provided to Fox News Digital on behalf of Jackson's estate said.
- “Plaintiff's attorneys have motioned for a reduction in executor compensation, when in fact the executors waived that from the estate's beginning, and have never taken any executor compensation," the rep told TMZ.
- In the filing, Paris expressed concern with the “enormous sums of cash” that remain uninvested by co-executors John Branca and John McClain, and said she feels as though the pair’s business decisions do not align with the best interests of the estate.
- Collins focused on her independence – she was one of the few Republicans who voted to remove Trump from office after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol – and attacked Jackson for his federal inexperience and his voting record in the state legislature.
- CNN called the race for Jackson just after 12:15 a.m.
- Jackson led by 4 points in a CNN/SSRS poll, 49 percent to 45 percent, among 783 likely voters October 20-26.
- 2026 ELECTION COVERAGE: Watch Live | Poll Closing Times | All Live Results | Live Updates | Live Fact Check Democrat Troy Jackson won election Wednesday to the U.S.
- The Associated Press declared Jackson the winner at 1:02 a.m.
- The younger Jackson, who has long sparred with Branca over his longstanding role as Michael’s executor, said in a Wednesday (Oct. 28) filing in Los Angeles court that he has offered only “defective filings” to support that massive payment of fees.
- The 27-year-old actress took legal action against Branca and McClain once again in November, alleging that the executors have been taking advantage of their roles as executors of the “PYT” singer’s estate in order to enrich themselves.
- Representatives say more than $200 million has already been distributed to or spent for the benefit of Jackson's children and that the estate intends to fund the trusts once its outstanding obligations are settled.
- “It is an understatement to say that this motion is completely without merit, nor is it argued on facts,” the estate wrote in the response statement, adding that several of the disputed filings had not yet even been filed in court and are not due for many months.