After days of family turmoil during which their grandmother was thought to be missing, Michael Jackson's children have been awarded a new guardian.Prince, Paris and Blanket will be looked after by the late singer's nephew Tito Joseph 'TJ' Jackson.
Back in June 2009, when the King of Pop died, his extended family rallied round to care for the youngsters with family matriarch Katherine initially named as their guardian. TJ's appointment comes after a relative reported Katherine missing – although she was later located safely in Arizona. When he did manage to speak to his grandmother he became concerned because she sounded strange and her speech was slurred. On Sunday, Paris had tweeted her concern, saying: "Yes, my grandmother is missing . I haven't spoken with her in a week, I want her home now."
The incident prompted Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff to temporarily suspend Katherine as the children's main care-giver because she hadn't spoken with them in several days.
In her place, grandson TJ will step in and take charge of the hilltop home in Calabasas where the children now live. Speaking to ABC News, 82-year-old Katherine said she was hurt by the court ruling and it was "based on a bunch of lies".
"I am devastated that while I've been away, that my children, my grandchildren, have been taken away from me, and I'm coming home to see about that," she said. Meanwhile, the music legend's siblings have questioned how his fortune is being managed. When the Thriller singer died aged 50, he left an estimated $500 million fortune in a family trust for his mother and three children. He left nothing to his father or siblings, who have repeatedly contested Michael's wishes.
Lawyer John Branca and and music executive John McClain are the executors of his will. On Tuesday Michael's brother Randy appeared on the MSNBC show, Politics Nation, claiming the two men were "criminals", adding that the will was " falsified". Randy also claimed the childcare dispute was part of a concerted effort made by the executors to divert focus from their handling of the matter.