Katherine Jackson is embroiled in a legal struggle to secure funding from her late son Michael Jackson’s estate to cover her legal expenses.
Amidst an ongoing, yet undisclosed, legal dispute—rumored to be concerning the estate's lucrative $600 million catalog deal with Sony—Katherine has found herself at odds with Michael's youngest son, Bigi, who initially sought to prevent her from utilizing the estate’s funds for her legal costs.
In response to the challenge, Katherine, aged 93, formally contested the move on March 20 through court documents.
She articulated her stance, emphasizing that the executors of Michael's estate are financially equipped to support her request for $500,000 to cover her legal fees.
Her argument hinges on the belief that the estate’s executors are retaining the assets to maintain control, rather than distributing them in alignment with the more generous provisions of the trust.
Katherine’s filings assert that the estate is well-endowed with “hundreds of millions of dollars” that would remain for the beneficiaries even after her legal expenses are met.
Despite not being a direct beneficiary of Michael’s primary estate but rather a separate trust, Katherine challenges the executors' stance that they are mandated to allocate a portion of the estate’s funds to charities before any distributions to beneficiaries.
The backdrop to this legal tussle includes Bigi’s previous opposition to the Sony deal, which he withdrew after a court decision permitted the deal to proceed.
Despite this, Katherine’s claim reveals a deepening rift over the management and distribution of Michael's vast financial legacy.
Moreover, the estate’s filing on March 21 shed light on the substantial sums Katherine has received since Michael's passing in 2009—totaling over $55 million.
This includes a significant portion from a monthly allowance amounting to $33 million out of the $55 million total. Thus, the estate's executors posit that Katherine possesses ample resources to independently finance her legal endeavors.
However, Bigi's stance reflects a nuanced position. While he resists the notion of the estate shouldering the entirety of Katherine’s legal fees, he is amenable to it covering "reasonable attorney fees and costs" related to her initial objections to the Sony transaction, according to People.
Bigi, Michael’s youngest child born via surrogate in 2002, and his siblings, Prince and Paris, find themselves navigating the complex legacy of their father’s estate, which continues to unfold in both public and legal arenas.
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