Seventeen years after the King of Pop’s death, the fight over his fortune is back in court — and this time it’s his own children on one side and the men running his empire on the other.
THE PETITION
Paris Jackson, 28, has petitioned a Los Angeles judge to order the executors of Michael Jackson’s estate to transfer $600 MILLION into the Michael Jackson Family Trust — the trust set up for her and her brothers, Prince Jackson and Bigi Jackson. Her filing, made October 29, states it plainly: “more than 17 years after his passing, Michael Jackson’s family trust remains unfunded.”
Under her father’s plan, the children were to start receiving income from their shares at 21, with bigger distributions at 30 and 40. Paris argues the siblings are dependent on executor John Branca to decide when — and how much — they receive. She has also challenged $109.2 million in compensation paid to the estate’s executives and attorneys for 2023 and 2024, and alleges her earlier challenges were met with retaliation, which the estate denies.
THE NUMBERS ARE STAGGERING
- The estate is valued at $2 BILLION to $3 BILLION (the executors’ own valuation)
- It held $850 MILLION in cash at the end of 2024
- It has generated more than $2.5 BILLION in gross earnings since 2009
- Forbes credits the empire with $140 MILLION in earnings in the past year alone — music, shows, licensing and deals, including the sale of Neverland Ranch and a music deal with Sony
- Michael died in 2009 reportedly $500 million in DEBT — the executors rebuilt it into one of the most powerful estates in entertainment
- Under the plan, 40% goes to the three children, 40% to their grandmother Katherine Jackson, and 20% to charity
THE ESTATE FIRES BACK
The estate calls Paris’s claims “a complete fabrication.” Its side: more than $200 MILLION has already been distributed for the benefit of Paris and the other beneficiaries, and estate attorneys say Paris alone has received $65 million in lifetime benefits — a figure her legal team disputes. The estate says it cannot fully fund the trust until its long fight with the IRS is settled: the IRS sought roughly $700 million in taxes and penalties, a court ruling significantly reduced that amount, but the matter is still not final. And it points to the will itself: none of the children receive a distribution until they are in their 30s.
THE CLOCK IS TICKING
This fight has a deadline built in: Prince, the oldest, turns 30 on February 13, 2027 — just about three months away. A court hearing on Paris’s petition is scheduled for December 4, 2026. John Branca is now the estate’s remaining executor; co-executor John McClain died earlier this year.
We will be watching this one closely.
Should the court force the estate to fund the trust NOW — or should Michael’s plan play out exactly as he wrote it? Tell us in the comments 👇🏾
Sources: Forbes; USA Today (court documents, Nov. 3, 2026); Paris Jackson’s Oct. 29, 2026 court petition. Photos: Michael Jackson, 1984 (public domain); Paris Jackson at the Venice International Film Festival (CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
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