Sony
The ruling yesterday in Los Angeles Superior Court names Katherine Jackson as special administrator, granting her temporary control over personal property that may be in the hands of others, according to a copy of the filings.
Katherine and Joseph Jackson are seeking control over their late sons estate in anticipation that others will step forward with inaccurate claims they have a will, the family said in court filings. A will Michael Jackson drafted in 2002, dividing the estate among his children, mother and charities, is expected to be submitted this week, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing unidentified people close to the late singer.
“It is possible that the court will have to review many wills and evaluate the competing claims of the presenters,” Katherine and Joseph Jackson said in court filings. “Someone with legal authority needs to be in place now to properly protect the estates interests.”
The 2002 will was written by John Branca, who was Jacksons primary attorney from 1980 to 2006, according to the Wall Street Journal report. It names Branca and music executive John McClain as executors. Branca didnt respond to requests for comment and McClain couldnt be reached, the newspaper said.
“Mrs. Jackson is asking to be appointed the representative of the estate under the assumption there is no will,” said Lawrence Heller, an attorney at Bryan Cave LLP in Los Angeles, who has created trusts and estates for celebrity clients and has no role in the Jackson case. “If a will materializes, her petition would most likely be knocked out.”
Recent Hire
Jackson hired Branca the week before his death to represent the singer on his planned concert, the lawyer said in a June 26 e-mail to Bloomberg News. He declined to comment further and didnt respond to requests for comment yesterday.
Katherine Jackson also won authority to secure and marshal assets. Her son died June 25 at age 50 after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The court put off until a July 6 hearing Katherine Jacksons request to collect income from her sons business ventures, including Sony/ATV Music Publishing, gain legal power to protect the estate, attend to contracts involving the singer, continue to meet payroll and make payments on debt, according to the filing.
Tokyo-based Sony Corp. “may immediately seek to assert rights and remedies under the terms of the joint venture agreement that would cause irreparable harm and irreversible loss,” the Jacksons said in the filing.
In Transition
The singers assets cant be quantified at this time, the family said in the filings.
“The decedents financial life was in transition at the time of the death and no one individual or entity has a complete overview of his various enterprises,” Jacksons parents said in documents filed with the court.
Katherine Jackson earlier gained custody of the pop singers three children. Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., 12, Paris- Michael Katherine Jackson, 11, and Prince Michael Jackson II, 7, are in their grandmothers care, according to court filings.
The estates assets would be used only for the children, who are the sole beneficiaries under state law, the Jacksons said in court documents.
Singers Portfolio
Michael Jacksons assets include interests in the Sony/ATV collection of songs by the Beatles, Bob Dylan and others, as well as the Neverland Ranch near Santa Barbara, California, along with undetermined debt.
In 2006, the singer gave Tokyo-based Sony an option to buy half of his 50 percent stake in Sony/ATV, allowing the singer to refinance $300 million of loans.