The finances of Michael Jackson‘s three children, Prince, 27, Paris, 26, and Bigi, 22, along with his mother, Katherine Jackson, 94, came to a screeching halt this week as the late pop star’s estate battles the IRS. The fight between the federal agency and the estate began three years ago and it’s only getting messier.
The Jackson estate was audited by the IRS several years ago, and in court documents obtained by People, the agency claimed it had “undervalued its assets” which resulted in an additional $700 million in taxes and penalties.” The estate fought back in 2021 and won a trial in tax court. Now, they are waiting on the court to give them the value of his Sony-owned music catalog, Mijac. While they wait for that tax-deduction issue to be sorted out, Michael’s kids and his mother’s financial distributions are on hold.
Now, Jackson family attorneys want some type of distribution to go into the family trust, but John Branca and John McClain, the executors of the “Thriller” singer’s will, denied the request. They reason that it’s impossible to “determine what amount could be safely distributed at this time” — their suggestion was to provide Paris, Prince, Bigi, and Katherine with a “family allowance” instead, according to the filing. The family has been ensnarled in quite a few legal battles this year, including one between Bigi and his grandmother.
Bigi and Katherine were upset when Branca and McClain brokered a deal to sell half of Michael’s catalog to Sony for $600 million. They filed a lawsuit, but “the court ruled against them.” Katherine wanted to appeal the ruling, but Bigi did not wish to pursue the expensive second round of a court fight. In a March legal filing, Bigi shared that an appeal was a waste of resources, and he didn’t want the estate to pay for it. He only agreed to have his grandmother’s legal costs from the first round covered — within reason.
Branca and McClain bragged about their accomplishments in making Michael’s estate into a very profitable venture for the family. “With the assistance of their counsel, the Executors have successfully rebuilt and enhanced Michael Jackson’s image, solidified the MJJ business as a significant entity in the entertainment industry, entered into and continue to enter into unprecedented business deals that have produced, and will in the future produce, significant revenues for the Estate, and have settled or disposed of most of the creditors’ claims and litigation,” they wrote in the March legal documents, per RadarOnline. No matter how this shakes out, there will be plenty of money to go around for all four heirs.
Before you go, click here to see photos of Michael Jackson’s kids over the years.
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