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Jacksons v AEG Timeline Legal
Jackson executors given more powers
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 26 October 2009
The two executors of Michael Jackson’s estate had their powers reaffirmed and increased at a court hearing on Thursday, despite efforts by the Jackson family to have John Branca and John McClain’s influence reduced.
As previously reported, some in the Jackson clan reckon that while Branca and McClain were named in Jacko’s 2002 will, Branca in particular had subsequently fallen out with the late singer. While it is true Branca ceased to work with Jackson after 2002, he says that he was back working for the late king of pop in the weeks before his death, and that he has paperwork to prove it.
As the Jackson clan have been making moves to give Jacko’s mother Katherine Jackson more say over her late son’s estate – and maybe even complete say – Branca and McClain asked for the courts to clarify their position. Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff did so last week, reaffirming their existing powers and giving them more rights to act on behalf of the Jacko estate without having to consult the courts.
Whether that means Beckloff rejects the Jackson family’s objections to Branca isn’t 100% clear. Said objections weren’t especially well represented because Katherine Jackson has just appointed a new attorney, Adam Streisand, and he didn’t attend last week’s hearing because he is waiting for her old legal reps to relinquish papers relating to the case. He said he couldn’t comment on Beckloff’s ruling until he had those documents. Streisand is definitely skilled in this area – ie celebrity estates – having previously worked on the probate cases of Anna Nicole Smith, Ray Charles and Marlon Brando.
In related news, La Toya Jackson has said she would like to be named guardian of her late brother’s children should their grandmother die before they are adults. As previously reported, Jacko’s will named Katherine Jackson as legal guardian of his three kids, with Diana Ross named as substitute guardian should his mother die. But La Toya has said that she’d like to care for the children should anything happen to her mother – either with or instead of Ross.
She’s quoted as saying: “According to the will, Diana Ross will be the guardian if anything happens to my mother. I know Diana would do a good job with them, but I think the kids will stay within the family and I’d be more than delighted to look after them”.
