Paris Jackson, the daughter of Michael Jackson, has petitioned a court to compel the executor of her father’s estate to distribute $600 million to a family trust for her and her two brothers, accusing the estate’s managers of incompetence and financial mismanagement.
The petition, filed on Oct. 29 in a state court in Los Angeles, is only from Paris Jackson, 28. Her brothers, Prince Jackson, 29, and Bigi Jackson, 24, are not named.
The 14-page document claims that more than 17 years after their father died, the family trust remains unfunded. The filing was made more than six months after “Michael,” the contentious biopic about the performer’s life and early career, was released in theaters worldwide, earning more than $1 billion at the global box office.
Michael, according to the petition, instructed that each child should begin receiving income from their respective trust shares when they turned 21. More would be distributed at the age of 30 and again at 40. It was not clear from the petition how much each child was supposed to receive when they turned 21.
The estate said that more than $200 million has already been distributed to benefit Paris Jackson and other beneficiaries.
According to the petition, the executor failed to take action, and it asks the court to order a “reasonable, partial distribution” to the family trust. After Michael Jackson died at age 50 in 2009, a court appointed John Branca and John McClain coexecutors of the estate. McClain died in May.
Paris Jackson has voiced complaints about the estate and its dealings before.
When she did so last year, objecting to gifts Branca made to colleagues, she was met with “scorched earth litigation, public attacks, and a multimillion reduction in monies provided to her and her siblings by the estate,” the petition said.
Her lawyers argue in the petition that the estate has earned billions through various business deals, including selling its roughly 10 percent interest in EMI Music Publishing to Sony for more than $287 million, selling Neverland Ranch for $22 million in 2020 and a 2023 deal with Sony for Jackson’s music and other rights that resulted in a $750 million payment.
“These transactions alone resulted in pre-tax, pre-expense liquidity for the estate exceeding $1 billion,” the petition said. “Executors have claimed the overall value of the estate is now between $2 billion and $3 billion.”
Paris Jackson’s team argues that the estate has sufficient assets to fund a meaningful partial distribution, stating that as of December 2024, the estate generated earnings in excess of $2.5 billion and had approximately $850 million in cash.
A representative for Paris Jackson said in a statement on Tuesday that the young actress and musician was “fighting for transparency and accountability” after years of delays and financial mismanagement of her father’s estate.
“The executors had the ability and obligation to begin funding the trust long ago,” the statement said. “Instead, they have paid themselves over $200 million. It’s time to act in the best interest of Michael’s beneficiaries as he intended.”
Estate battles over the flow of money and other interests related to music giants are rarely simple to settle. The issues with Jackson’s estate date back more than a decade.
Michael Jackson died owing more than $500 million, according to court documents. And there are ongoing issues with taxes, which have taken years to untangle with the Internal Revenue Service.
A representative for Michael Jackson’s estate said in a statement that Paris Jackson’s lawyers are aware that her father’s estate is prevented from funding the philanthropic giving and individual trusts for beneficiaries until several legal hurdles are cleared, including “the ongoing I.R.S. litigation where they sought $700 million in taxes and penalties.”
Although it was able to secure a ruling to significantly reduce that amount, the estate said, the matter remains unsettled and could still change.
Lawyers for Paris Jackson offered a different view in the petition, writing that she believes there is no pending motion and no pending appeal with the I.R.S.
Some of the claims made by Paris Jackson are “complete fabrication,” her father’s estate said. “Michael Jackson’s will is clear. None of his children receive a distribution until they are in their 30s.”
In response, a representative for Paris Jackson said the estate was “deflecting” to mask its own incompetence, adding that after years of delay “Paris had no choice but to step in herself.”
A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 4.
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