Photo-illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty Images
Seventeen years after the death of her father, Michael Jackson, Paris Jackson filed a court motion Oct. 29 in Los Angeles asking the court to order a preliminary distribution of at least $600 million in available cash from the King of Pop’s estate to fund the trust established for her and her siblings — Prince, 29, and Bigi, 24 — as rightful heirs.
The estate has been in upheaval since Michael’s death on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50. His personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, who administered a fateful dose of propofol, a fast-acting general anesthetic, to the singer at his Holmby Hills home, was charged and convicted of manslaughter. Michael’s former entertainment lawyer John Branca (who was rehired eight days before Michael’s death) and music executive John McClain were named co-executors of the estate, according to a 2002 will. Although Michael had significant assets at the time of his death – including his share of the Sony/ATV music publishing catalog – he was also said to be $500 million in debt to several creditors and had less than $700,000. dollars of liquidity. But lucrative deals started coming in after his death, and his estate rebounded thanks to his lasting legacy and the work of Branca and McClain. After McClain died on May 26, 2026, following a fall, Paris Jackson accused Branca of coming between her and her family’s money.
Michael’s only daughter says she was forced to spend her own resources to ask the court to order a partial distribution of $600 million to the heirs’ family trust as the beneficiary of Jackson’s estate. So far, Paris has filed two objections to the estate’s claims regarding where the money went. Here’s how we got here.
Michael Jackson’s estate has grown exponentially since his death. THE That’s it The documentary, consisting of extensive rehearsal footage from what was supposed to be his final tour, grossed more than $250 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing documentary of all time, according to Guinness World Records. His Neverland ranch sold for $22 million. Sony purchased its stake in the Sony/ATV catalog, which includes 200 Beatles songs, for $750 million, followed by a 50 percent stake in Jackson’s master catalog for $600 million. There have also been lucrative partnerships with Cirque du Soleil and MJ: the musical on Broadway. The most recent highest-grossing film is the 2026 biopic Michael, starring Michael’s real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson with Miles Teller as Branca, which grossed over $1 billion worldwide.
Michael specified in his will and probate trust documents that he wanted the trustees of his estate, “as soon as reasonably practicable” after his death, to distribute 20 percent to charities benefiting the children’s causes and to pay all remaining state and federal taxes. The documents specify that the remaining assets will be divided equally between two separate trusts – one for Michael’s children and the other for his 96-year-old mother, Katherine Jackson – according to Paris’ petition. The will also states that “upon Katherine’s death, the remaining balance of the trust estate of the Katherine Jackson’s Trust will be added to the trust estate of the Michael Jackson Children’s Trust.”
The children’s trust documents outline exactly how Michael wanted the money distributed, Paris’ legal team said. The will specifies that, until his children reach 21 years of age, the trustee, at his discretion, must use their share to pay or use the funds for the benefit of each child, and then set aside any unused capital for them. Then, at age 30, each child would receive a third of their principal share. At age 35, each would receive half of their then remaining share, and at age 40, each would receive the entire remaining balance of their share.
In her new 14-page filing, Paris, 28, claims she and her siblings did not receive the payments as her father pointed out. Instead, she alleges the executor made the payments “to deter them from investigating his abuse.” She also says the estate has not yet funded the trust for her and her siblings.
“Prince and Paris, who were 12 and 11 when their father died, are now on the cusp of their 30th birthdays, and yet the Executor has done nothing to fund the trusts,” court documents allege. “Instead, the executor continues to keep each beneficiary indebted with an iron grip on when and how funds are distributed to them.”
Paris’ legal team claims Michael intended for his children to begin receiving income from the trust when they reached their 21st birthday, according to court documents.
“This never happened,” wrote Paris’ lawyer, Andrew Mason. “As each child reached age 30, Michael intended for them to begin receiving capital distributions from their respective trusts, with all three siblings gaining full control of their father’s assets by Bigi’s 40th birthday.”
Mason said the heirs received lesser amounts dictated by Branca, the remaining executor. Paris’ legal team insists the estate has enough money to ensure distribution of funds, adding that the estate has pre-tax liquidity in excess of $1 billion and the executors themselves have claimed the overall value of the estate is now between $2 billion and $3 billion, with approximately $850 million in cash.
Although the estate still has a liability to the IRS to settle, Paris’ legal team insists that it should not delay the distribution because the estate has enough money to cover both. Its attorneys cite other cases in which prior courts have ordered preliminary distribution, even when pending litigation, provided there are sufficient assets available to address those outstanding questions.
Paris said in her latest court filing that she was “the only beneficiary who was not intimidated by the executor’s intimidation tactics.” In October, his legal team filed court papers accusing Branca of failing to fulfill his fiduciary duty by keeping more than $440 million in accounts that generated a return of less than 1%; The team also questioned other expenses and consulting fees charged to the estate, such as fees for private jet flights instead of first-class commercial flights. Paris also objected to more than $94 million in compensation requested for Branca and the late McClain, according to court documents filed Nov. 2. In court documents, Paris said that when she previously pushed back and objected to the administration of the estate, including her objection to Branca’s non-contractual gifts to colleagues, she faced “scorched earth litigation, public attacks and a multi-million reduction in monies paid to her and her siblings.”
One of his objections concerned the payment of bonuses to lawyers. His legal team said it involved $625,000 in non-contractual gifts to three law firms in 2018 that his legal team didn’t learn about until seven years later, according to a motion filed in March by Paris’ lawyers. His legal team objected, saying the bonus payments were not tied to any written agreement, invoice or time slip, alleging that the bonuses from 2018 to 2021 were paid by “Branca using estate money, intended to curry favor and retain him personally.”
Citing ongoing litigation with the IRS, an estate spokesperson pushed back on Paris’ allegations, saying they had been blocked from fully funding philanthropic donations and individual trusts for beneficiaries until several legal hurdles were cleared.
“The claim that the executor withheld or ‘cut off payments’ is a complete fabrication,” the statement said. “In fact, more than $200 million has already been distributed for the benefit of Paris and other beneficiaries. Michael Jackson’s wishes are clear. None of his children are receiving any distributions until they are in their 30s. The estate looks forward to the time when all issues are resolved so that their trusts can be fully funded as Michael desired.”
The judge scheduled a Zoom hearing for December 4 to hear both sides. Michael’s executor has until that time to file a response motion. A Paris spokesperson added: “The Domaine is once again deviating from its own incompetence. Paris requested that the trust be partially funded, which Mr. Branca had the ability and obligation to do long ago. After years of delay, Paris had no choice but to intervene itself.”
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