Paris Jackson has accused the executor of her father Michael Jackson’s estate of preventing her and her brothers from receiving their full inheritance.
The 28-year-old, who is currently involved in a highly publicised legal war with estate executor John Branca, has submitted a court filing asking for $600 million (£447 million) to be paid into the Michael Jackson Family Trust.
In the filing, obtained by Page Six, Paris asks a judge to order Branca to transfer that figure – or an amount to be determined by the court – into the trust, which benefits Paris and her brothers Prince, 29, and Bigi, 24.
The actress/musician claims that the trust remains unfunded, 17 years after the Thriller singer’s death in 2009. This allegedly goes against the King of Pop’s will, which stipulated that his children should receive income from the trust when they turned 21.
According to Paris, they each receive smaller amounts determined by Branca, and the money has allegedly been significantly reduced since she started her legal challenge against the estate last year.
Responding to her 29 October filing, a spokesperson for the Michael Jackson Estate told Page Six, “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.”
“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,” they continued. “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.”
A hearing on the matter will take place in December.
