Yesterday (July 6), Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff denied Katherine Jackson control of her son’s estate, instead awarding temporary holdings to attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain.
Under the ruling, the two men will hold their temporary powers until August 3. McClain and Branca’s estate control allows them to negotiate a settlement with concert promoter AEG Live over Michael Jackson’s now aborted 50 concert comeback tour.
Additionally, the co-estate holders can begin the arduous process of reviewing Jackson’s assets, which include a 50% stake in the Sony-ATV Music Publishing catalog (worth $1.5-$2 billion), and his own Mijac Music Publishing.
The latter contains the late star’s music library which is reported to have hundreds of unreleased songs and videos.
Katherine Jackson applied to be sole administrator of her son’s estate shortly after his death, but before the emergence of a 2002 will.
The document names Branca and McClain as administrators. However, Katherine Jackson’s attorney’s argued against the appointments based on concerns about the “financial leadership” abilities of the two men.
Branca had previously been fired by Michael but was reinstated just days before his sudden passing.
After August 3, another hearing will be scheduled to determine who will oversee the estate going forward.
L. Londell McMillan, attorney for Ms. Jackson, shot down reports that the legal dispute would turn into a bitter, public sideshow.
“We have no reason to believe this is going to turn into a nasty fight over millions and millions of dollars,” McMillan told the Associated Press. “We will be working to ensure that Mr. Jackson’s legacy will be treated with dignity. Mr. Jackson’s life and legacy will be memorialized tomorrow, and we will move forward.”
Today at noon, a public memorial service for Michael Jackson will commence in Los Angeles at the Staples Center.
The service is expected to be shown through closed circuit in over 100 theaters in the Midwest and South.
Of the 1.5 million that registered online, 8,750 names were selected randomly to receive a pair of tickets to attend the service.
Expected participators for the funeral include Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, John Mayer, Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, Magic Johnson, and Kobe Bryant.
The event will also be broadcast on all major news outlets such as CNN and Fox News.
Last week Michael Jackson’s music posted 2.3 million downloads, making him the first artist to exceed 1 million downloads in 7 days.
