Paris Jackson is demanding $600 million from her late father Michael Jackson’s estate, accusing its longtime executor of keeping the children from receiving their inheritance..
In a bombshell new court filing, obtained exclusively by Page Six, the 28-year-old singer is asking a judge to order the estate to make a preliminary distribution of $600 million to the Michael Jackson Family Trust, arguing that there is no legitimate reason the money has not been transferred more than 17 years after the King of Pop’s death.
Paris claims that despite the estate generating billions of dollars and accumulating hundreds of millions in cash, the trust intended to benefit her and her brothers, Prince, 29, and Bigi, 24, remains unfunded.
The petition, filed Oct. 29 in Los Angeles Superior Court, takes aim at executor John Branca, accusing him of maintaining an “iron grip” over the siblings by controlling when and if they receive money from their father’s estate. Branca, an attorney and chairman of The Michael Jackson Company, was initially hired by the King of Pop in 1985. Branca resigned from Jackson’s team over financial matters in 2006, before rejoining in 2009 — eight days before Jackson died.
Michael’s will stipulated that his children should start receiving income from their respective portions of the trust when they turned 21. However, Paris claims that never happened, and that they instead receive smaller amounts determined by Branca.
She further alleges that Branca uses his control over those payments to discourage the siblings from questioning his handling of the estate.
The filing also claims that when Paris began challenging the estate’s administration last year, including objecting to what she described as Branca’s “non-contractual gifts” to colleagues, her concerns were met with “scorched earth litigation,” public attacks and a multimillion-dollar reduction in the money provided to her and her siblings.
“This course of conduct and administration should not continue,” the petition states.
According to the filing, Michael intended for each of his children to receive one-third of the principal in their respective trusts when they turned 30.
They would then receive half of their remaining shares at 35, with the balance distributed outright at 40.
Prince is set to turn 30 in four months, while Paris turns 29 in April and Bigi turns 25 in February.
Paris argues that the estate has more than enough money to fund the trust while still covering its outstanding obligations.
Among the transactions cited in the filing are the estate’s 2018 sale of its roughly 10% interest in EMI Music Publishing to Sony for $287.5 million, the 2020 sale of Neverland Ranch for $22 million and the 2023 deal with Sony, which agreed to pay $750 million upfront for a 50% interest in the estate’s remaining intellectual property assets.
Those transactions alone generated more than $1 billion in pre-tax, pre-expense liquidity, according to the petition.
The estate has also reported generating more than $2.5 billion in gross earnings through December 2024, with its overall value estimated between $2 billion and $3 billion.
As of December 2024, the estate reportedly held approximately $850 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Paris estimates that even after accounting for potential liabilities, approximately $600 million remains available for distribution.
The petition argues that California law favors distributing estate assets to beneficiaries as soon as it can be done without jeopardizing creditors or other interested parties.
She also argues that outstanding tax matters and litigation do not justify continuing to hold all of the estate’s assets. The petition notes that nearly all significant creditor claims and litigation have been resolved or disposed of favorably, with only certain claims remaining.
Paris is asking the court to order Branca to transfer the $600 million to the family trust, or whatever amount the judge determines to be appropriate.
She is also seeking reimbursement for her legal fees and costs from estate assets.
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.”
“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.”
“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.” The matter is scheduled for a December hearing. Michael died on June 25, 2009, at age 50. He named his family trust as the sole beneficiary of his estate, with Branca also named as trustee.
The post Paris Jackson demands $600M from dad Michael’s estate, accuses executor of withholding kids’ inheritance appeared first on Page Six.
