Michael Jackson's mother was yesterday awarded temporary custody of his three children as the family fired the first shots in the legal battle over his estate.
Lawyers representing the family went to court to assert the right of Jackson's mother Katherine to take care of Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff granted temporary guardianship to Katherine who has been looking after the children at the family compound since her son's death.
The family also moved to seize control of other elements of the Jackson legacy. They announced that they had sole “personal and legal authority” to act on behalf of their son and appointed Londell McMillan, an entertainment lawyer, as the family’s designated spokesman.
Jackson’s parents also asked for Katherine to be named as administrator of her late son’s estate. The court documents state that she intends to use her late son’s assets exclusively for his children “after payment of debts and expenses of administration”.
Mr McMillan said the family had not heard from Deborah Rowe, the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, about custody. The youngest son was born to an unknown surrogate mother. If Ms Rowe was given custody, it would be "detrimental" to the children, court papers claimed.
"I don't think there will be anybody who thinks that there is someone better" than Katherine Jackson to have custody, Mr McMillan said on NBC's "Today" show. "She is a very loving host of other grandchildren."
Frank DiLeo, Jackson's manager, said a will made by Jackson would be opened today and that it contained financial provisions for the children and his custody wishes. He said he did not know when the will was made.
Ms Rowe has yet to say whether she will contest custody. Experts say she has the strongest legal claim to Jackson's two oldest children, as she is their natural mother, despite the fact that she gave up here parental rights after her divorce from Jackson and has rarely seen them in the last few years as he travelled abroad with them.
Ms Rowe's only public statement has come from her attorney, Marta Almli: "Ms. Rowe's only thoughts at this time have been regarding the devastating loss Michael's family has suffered. Ms Rowe requests that Michael's family, and particularly the children, be spared such harmful, sensationalist speculation and that they be able to say goodbye to their loved one in peace."
Jackson's manager, Frank DiLeo, told NBC: "The will will be taken out of the safe today. I do know there are strict provisions in there about the finances for the children, the finances for the mother and who will get custody of the children in the case of a death."
He said it was "more than likely" that it will be Katherine Jackson who is named in the will as legal guardian "because Michael was extremely, extremely close to her".
The move to bring Michael Jackson's children into the family fold comes after their father's unhappy childhood at the hands of Joe Jackson. Michael told how he used to be whipped by his father and had a miserable adolescence. Joe Jackson admitted hitting his son with a belt but denied he ever beat him.
Judge Mitchell Beckloff set a hearing for July 6 for the custody case, where the children do not have to be present, according to Allan Parachini, spokesman for the Los Angeles Superior Court.
Jackson was, by most accounts, an attentive and loving father, despite the infamous incident when he dangled his youngest child out of a hotel window.
"He was a great father," said Raymone Bain, Jackson's former publicist and general manager. "Those kids knew three and four languages. Even the little one. They were well mannered and sweet. I can't imagine these children without him."
The children have been rarely seen in public and when they did venture out, Jackson gave them veils, masks or other items to cover their faces. Since the death of their father, they have been at the Jackson family compound in Encino, Los Angeles. They are said to be missing their father but doing ok. Jesse Jackson, a family friend, said he saw them over the weekend playing with their cousins at the family home.
Ms Rowe, a former nurse for Jackson's dermatologist, married Jackson in 1996 but filed for divorce in 1999. She later gave up her custody rights to the children. She wrote in a 2001 petition to sever her parental rights that she thought Jackson was doing a good job with the kids: "Michael has been a wonderful father to the children, and I do not wish to share any parenting responsibilities with Michael because he is doing so well without me."
Then in 2003 she petitioned to have those rights restored after Jackson was arrested on child molestation charges, and an appeals court sided with her.
Jackson and Ms Rowe apparently reached a financial settlement in 2006 regarding her rights, but the terms have never been officially disclosed. The surrogate mother of Prince Michael II has never been identified, and while she may surface, it is likely that she signed away her rights, according to legal experts.
If Ms Rowe did contest custody, she would have to undergo an evaluation by the court to determine if she was the best person to care for Jackson's children. "If Jackson did indicate a preference, that will be given great weight, but that will not be determinative," said Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred. "Children are not property, they cannot be willed to another person."
Ms Allred said that Ms Rowe has better legal standing than others who apply for custody of Jackson's eldest children. "She's definitely going to have an advantage."
But judges in California also take into account who is left in the children's lives with a strong bond and a judge could decide to ask the children themselves who they most want to live with.
Stacy Phillips, a Los Angeles divorce attorney who has represented numerous high-profile clients, said whoever wins custody of Jackson's children would not automatically gain control of their inheritance but would receive payments from the estate.
Joe Jackson said last night that the funeral arrangements would not be finalised until the results were known from a second post-mortem examination that the family requested. He told ABC7: “Michael was dead before he left the house. I’m suspecting foul play somewhere.”
Mr DiLeo said that the star had had an energetic rehearsal the night before his death. The Jackson family has questioned the role of the singer’s physician, Conrad Murray, who was with him when he collapsed. Lawyers for Dr Murray, who had been treating Jackson for three years and who had recently moved into the rented mansion, issued a categorical denial yesterday that the doctor had administered an injection of Demerol, a narcotic painkiller, to Jackson before his death.
The family is said to be considering a series of simultaneous memorial services around the world for Jackson, an event that could dwarf even the send-off given to Elvis Presley in 1977.
