Monday, July 23, 2012

Katherine Jackson's Disappearance/Reappearance: What's at Stake - E! Online

Katherine JacksonX17

Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, appears to be doing just fine by the looks of the happy photo X17Online obtained of her and her family relaxing in Arizona playing the card game Uno.

But as E! News reports, all of the behind-the-scenes drama concerning her late son's estate, leading up to Katherine's so-called "disappearance," paints a less-rosy pictureâ€"a portrait of infighting going on not just among family members, but also between the Jacksons and the estate's co-executors, John Branca and John McClain.

Here's what's at stake.

MORE: Katherine Jackson Located, Is Safe With Family

Per information filed by the executors of Jackson's estate during initial probate hearings in 2009 and obtained by E! News, Jackson's last will was dated July 7, 2002, and the sole beneficiary of that will was the Michael Jackson Trust and Jackson's three children, Paris, Prince Michael and Prince Michael II aka Blanket.

Among other key findings:

• Katherine was appointed guardian of the minor children, but since she had no income other than Social Security, Branca and McClain, as the estate's administrators, authorized that she receive $26,804 a month (with Social Security deducted from that amount).

 • Additionally, the estate agreed to continue to pay all expenses pertaining to the residence she's lived in for the past 30 years including the mortgage, property taxes, maintenance, insurance, utilities, landscaping, etc.

MORE: Michael Jackson's "Fake, Flawed" Willâ€"The Battle Rages

• The children were authorized to receive $60,000 a month total, but that amount was to be paid directly to Katherine. No other family members beside Jackson's children and Katherine were authorized to receive an allowance from the estate.

• Katherine and the kids were the sole designated beneficiary of the King of Pop's life insurance policy.

 • At the time of his death, Jackson's estate was estimated to be worth more than $500 million.

Last week, Katherine's nephew Trent reported the 82-year-old matriarch as missing late Saturday night, saying she hadn't been heard from in over a week. Adding to the worries, Paris tweeted that she hadn't spoken to her grandmother either.

Apparently, neither of them talked to Katherine's son Jermaine Jackson, who tweeted that his mother was "fine" and "resting up" in Arizona on doctor's orders.

MORE: Paris, LaToya and Randy Tweet in Memory of Michael Jackson in Third Anniversary of His Death

Before today's pic surfaced showing the elder Jackson apparently safe and sound in Arizona, Zia Modabber, an attorney for Branca, told E! News that his client was "concerned" about all the news surrounding her purported disappearance and was "paying close attention to what is going on."

Meanwhile, adding to speculation that some family members wouldn't mind rewriting M.J.'s will in their favor, the surviving members of the Jackson 5 have hit the road again with what they're (ironically) calling the Unity Tour and performing hits from their classic catalog. However, according to the Los Angeles Times, 11 stops out of the 27-date trek have been cancelled and ticket sales have been sluggish to say the least, suggesting the brothers may have a hard time keeping the act alive without Michael.

Rumors of internecine family warfare also got a boost after Us Weekly reported last week that Janet Jackson was "furious" that Paris landed a role in the upcoming film Lundon's Bridge and the Three Keys because it's not what her dad would've wanted.

A source told the magazine the "Rhythm Nation" diva felt the casting "goes against Michael's wishes to keep his kids out of the limelight until age 18."

Also last week, siblings Janet, Jermaine, Rebbie, Tito and Randy fired off an angry letter to Branca and McClain, accusing them of fraud when it comes to their brother's will. However, a statement sent to E! News from estate spokesman Jim Bates dismisses such a claim.

â€"Reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum

GALLERY: Michael Jackson: A Life

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