Paris Jackson has gone to court to force a $600 million payout from her late father’s estate.
The 28-year-old singer filed a petition Oct. 29 in Los Angeles Superior Court asking a judge to order executor John Branca to transfer the money to the Michael Jackson Family Trust, arguing there is no legitimate reason the funds have sat untouched more than 17 years after the King of Pop’s death. Paris claims the estate has generated billions of dollars and holds hundreds of millions in cash, yet the trust meant to benefit her and her brothers, Prince, 29, and Bigi, 24, remains unfunded.
Branca, an attorney and chairman of The Michael Jackson Company, first worked for Michael in 1985. He resigned in 2006 over financial matters, then rejoined the team in 2009 — just eight days before the singer died on June 25, 2009, at age 50. Michael’s will named the family trust as the estate’s sole beneficiary and designated Branca as trustee.
The will stipulated that the children should begin receiving income from their respective trust portions at age 21. Paris alleges that never happened, and that they instead receive smaller amounts determined by Branca himself. She further claims he uses that control to discourage the siblings from questioning his administration of the estate.
The filing says that when Paris began challenging the estate’s administration last year, including objecting to what she called Branca’s “non-contractual gifts” to colleagues, her concerns were met with “scorched earth litigation,” public attacks and a multimillion-dollar reduction in money provided to her and her siblings.
“This course of conduct and administration should not continue,” the petition states.
Michael intended each child to receive one-third of the principal in their respective trusts at age 30, then half their remaining shares at 35, with the balance distributed outright at 40. Prince is set to turn 30 in four months, while Paris turns 29 in April and Bigi turns 25 in February.
The petition cites major transactions including the 2018 sale of the estate’s roughly 10% EMI Music Publishing interest to Sony for $287.5 million, the 2020 Neverland Ranch sale for $22 million, and the 2023 Sony deal paying $750 million upfront for a 50% interest in remaining intellectual property assets. Those deals alone generated more than $1 billion in pre-tax, pre-expense liquidity, according to the filing.
The estate has reported more than $2.5 billion in gross earnings through December 2024, with overall value estimated between $2 billion and $3 billion. As of December 2024, it reportedly held approximately $850 million in cash and cash equivalents. Paris estimates that even after potential liabilities, roughly $600 million remains available for distribution.
The petition argues California law favors distributing estate assets to beneficiaries as soon as possible without jeopardizing creditors or other interested parties. It contends outstanding tax matters and litigation do not justify holding all assets, noting nearly all significant creditor claims and litigation have been resolved or disposed of favorably.
A spokesperson for the Michael Jackson Estate pushed back in a statement. “Ms. Jackson’s counsel is well aware that the Estate is prevented from fully funding the charitable foundation and the individual trusts for the beneficiaries until several legal hurdles have been removed, including in particular the ongoing IRS litigation, where they sought $700 million in taxes and penalties from the Estate,” the spokesperson said.
“While we were able to secure a ruling to significantly reduce that amount, the matter has not been settled and could still change. Further, the claim that the executor has withheld or ‘cut’ payments is a complete fabrication. More than $200 million has already been distributed to or for the benefit of Paris and the other beneficiaries.”
The statement continued, “The Estate looks forward to the time when all issues are resolved so that the charitable foundation and trusts can be fully funded as Michael wanted.”
Paris is seeking reimbursement for her legal fees and costs from estate assets alongside the ordered distribution. The matter is scheduled for a December hearing.