Michael Jackson estate fight: Timeline of feud between daughter Paris and executors

In June 2009, michael jackson Was at home in Los Angeles while preparing for an ambitious 50-show residency at London’s O2 Arena He suffered a heart attack and died. His sudden death caused a wave of mourning across the world.

The 50-year-old singer, widely known as the “King of Pop”, left behind one of the most remarkable and fascinating music catalogs in history. Nevertheless, his financial affairs were in disarray. It came to light later that Jackson owed more than $500 million to various creditors.

His estate was placed in the hands of a pair of executors, attorney John Branca and A&R executive John McClain. For the past 16 years, the two have been responsible for managing Jackson’s ongoing affairs and business interests.

Jackson’s estate still holds a significant stake in his renowned music catalogue, However, 50% stake was sold to Sony in 2024. Several other assets were also sold, including the publishing rights to the Beatles’ music, which Jackson had originally purchased in 1985. They were also sold to Sony in 2016. Neverland Ranch was sold in 2020 to billionaire Ronald Burkle, a Jackson family friend and business advisor, for $22 million.

The estate also continues to control the rights to properties such as Broadway shows. mj the musical and includes upcoming biopic michael,

The beneficiaries of the estate were named as Jackson’s three children: sons Prince and Biggie and daughter Paris. However, the public rift between Paris and the estate’s executors has grown in recent months. The 27-year-old actor and musician has repeatedly expressed concern “Irregular Payment” and accused the lawyers “Withdrawing money” from his father’s estate.

Here, we see how the feud between the executors and beneficiaries of the estate has evolved:

25 June 2009 , death of michael jackson

It was partly his own financial difficulties that convinced Jackson to stage an ambitious 50-show concert residency at London’s O2 Arena. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, later said: “He was under enormous pressure. The kids told him they were tired of living in hotels and rented places, but Michael was devastated… He wanted to do the London show and then buy a family home, maybe in Vegas. But night after night he would tell me he didn’t think he had the ability to do that.”

On the day of his death – June 25, 2009 – Murray said Jackson returned home to his rented Beverly Hills mansion at 1 a.m. after rehearsals for the show. “He was hysterical. He was begging me, ‘Please Dr. Conrad, I need some milk [Jackson’s term for the anaesthetic propofol] So that I can sleep.”

Murray admitted to giving Jackson a small amount of propofol, but claimed that he believed the singer had also injected himself with his own. Jackson suffered cardiac arrest, and Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 and given a four-year prison sentence.

11 January 2024 , Jackson’s estate agrees to biopic deal

Jackson’s estate inks a deal with Lionsgate and Universal to produce michaelJackson biopic, directed by training Day And equalizer The film stars film producer Antoine Fuqua and Jackson’s nephew Jafar Jackson as the King of Pop. The April 2025 release date was later pushed to April 24, 2026.

22 March 2024 , Jackson’s son Biggie files petition to stop grandmother Katherine from using estate funds for legal fight

Jackson’s son Biggie – formerly known as Blanket – Filed a legal motion to block Jackson’s grandmother, Jackson’s mother Katherine, from accessing estate funds to finance a legal disputeThe assets are believed to be worth more than its recent catalog deal with record label Sony, which is estimated to be worth $600 million (£476.8 million).

The filing also revealed that Katherine received more than $55 million (£43.7m) after Jackson’s death, including more than $33 million (£26.2m) in cash from a $166,000 (£132,000) per month alimony, as well as $15 million (£11.9m) to buy and improve her home, which includes a personal gardener, chef and security personnel.

28 June 2024 , The full extent of Jackson’s financial difficulties became public

Branca and McClain file A petition filed in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking legal authority to pay multiple law firms for their services provided to the estate from July to December 2018.

The petition states: “The executors have faced exceptionally challenging circumstances… Among other issues, at the time of Michael Jackson’s death, Michael Jackson’s most significant estate was subject to debts and claims from creditors in excess of $500 million, with some of the debt bearing interest at extremely high interest rates, and some of the debt being in default.”

22 August 2024 , Despite grandmother’s objections, estate agrees to sell portion of Jackson’s songs to Sony for $600 million

had property A Los Angeles appeals court has allowed Sony Music Group to sell a portion of the late pop icon’s songs for about $600 million.

The decision came over the objections of Katherine Jackson, who said the sale would be against her son’s wishes.

However, the court found that Jackson’s will provided his executors with “broad powers to buy and sell assets of the estate in the best interests of the estate” while stipulating that “all assets of the estate be distributed to the trust.”

11 July 2025 , Paris Jackson raises concerns over “irregular payments” made by estate

jackson’s daughter Paris filed an objection to Branca and McClain’s request for legal fees.

In the filing, she expresses concern about the practice by executors of “paying so-called ‘premium payments’ for unencumbered attorney time.”

Jackson’s legal team argues that the payments reflect poorly on executors of estates, writing: “These irregular payments raise serious and important questions about the ability of executors to effectively monitor counsel … and avoid giving themselves and their associates wasteful, six-figure gifts.”

15 July 2025 , Executors say they had to deal with ‘issues’ with Jackson’s ex-wife

Branca and McClain revealed She had to deal with “issues” related to one of the King of Pop’s ex-wives as she filed a petition for legal fees.

In a legal filing, the executor of the Jackson estate detailed what work was assigned to one of the law firms, which included “addressing issues related to Michael Jackson’s former spouses,” although the filing did not specify which of the pop star’s former wives was involved.

Jackson was married twice, to Lisa Marie Presley from 1994 to 1996, and to Debbie Rowe, the mother of Paris and her brother Prince, from 1996 to 2000. Biggie was born via surrogate.

4 August 2025 , Paris Jackson alleges lawyers are “sucking money” from the estate.

Paris filed a new legal motion Accused a “collusive, highly compensated” group of lawyers of taking advantage of the lack of oversight “to extort money” from his late father’s estate.

She filed a motion requesting a judge to intervene. The motion alleges that: “As painful as it is to say in print, the current record shows that a group of close-knit, highly-compensated lawyers is, quite frankly, taking advantage of the executors’ lack of oversight to siphon money from the estate.

“To make matters worse, the payment of these gifts has been concealed by the fact that the executors’ lawyers are only now requesting approval of the fees from 2018, with no reasonable explanation for the delay.”

In response, the estate’s attorney Jonathan Steinsapir disputed the claims.

In a statement, Steinsapir said: “The estate’s historic transformation and success on behalf of Michael Jackson’s children speaks for itself.

“The business judgment of the estate’s executors has generated billions of dollars for Michael’s children, and they have used that same business judgment to determine appropriate compensation for the world-class legal team that has helped them achieve these unprecedented results, while also fighting off baseless attacks against Michael by opportunists seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of the estate and its beneficiaries.

“The claims made by this new group of lawyers [Paris] -Those who have no meaningful experience representing clients in the entertainment industry – are both baseless and insulting. We are confident that the Court will reject them outright and re-approve the accounting of the assets as it has done many times over the past sixteen years.

15 October 2025 – Executors defend their records, claiming Paris received a profit of $65 million

In a legal filing, Branca and McClain hit back at allegations of mismanagement, pointing out that Paris had received substantial profits.

“Few people have benefited more from the business decisions of the executors than the petitioners, who have received approximately $65 million in profits from the estate,” the filing claims.

“He would never have got it if the executors had followed a specific playbook for this kind of property in July 2009.”

He argued that they had turned around the fortunes of an estate that was initially in disarray, citing a judge’s earlier praise, saying: “The executors’ business judgment has taken over an estate that ‘began with nothing more than debt and substantial ongoing obligations’ and ‘transformed’ [it] In a net worth of $2 billion’ – a fortune that is now ‘a powerhouse and force in the music business today.’

Nov. 13, 2025 – Paris vows to restart property battle after legal setback

On 10 November, a judge ruled against Paris on procedural grounds. Los Angeles Judge Michelle L. Beckloff dismissed all claims based on the estate’s own court filings, and ruled that these documents are protected under the First Amendment and California’s anti-SLAPP laws.

However, representatives of Paris pointed out Independent She has not conceded defeat, saying in a statement: “This order is limited to minor procedural issues and does not change the facts: the pattern of behavior displayed by the executors and their attorneys raises significant red flags, and Paris will continue to work to ensure that her family is treated fairly. We will submit an updated filing shortly.”