Paris Jackson Seeks Funding For Family Trust From Estate

Paris Jackson is seeking a court order to move $600 million from the estate of her late father into a family trust designed for her and her brothers, Prince and Bigi. In a petition filed on October 29, Paris argues that the trust has remained unfunded for more than 17 years following the singer’s death in 2009. She contends that despite the estate’s significant assets and revenue from various business deals, the siblings remain dependent on the estate executor, John Branca, to determine the timing and amount of their distributions.

Financial Disputes And Asset Management

The petition highlights several high-value transactions that have bolstered the estate’s cash reserves. These include the 2018 sale of an interest in EMI Music Publishing for $287.5 million and the 2020 sale of the Neverland Ranch property, the singer’s former home, for $22 million. Additionally, a 2023 agreement with Sony regarding music and intellectual property generated $750 million in upfront proceeds. Collectively, these transactions produced over $1 billion in cash before accounting for taxes and expenses. Paris estimates that after considering potential liabilities, approximately $600 million could be distributed to the trust, noting that the estate held about $850 million in cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2024.

According to the filing, the trust’s terms specify that the siblings should receive income from their shares starting at age 21. This is to be followed by staged distributions of the principal when they reach the ages of 30, 35, and 40. Currently, Prince is 29, Paris is 28, and Bigi is 24. Paris argues that the failure to fund the trust leaves the children without the financial independence intended by the trust’s structure and keeps them reliant on the executor’s discretion.

The Estate’s Response And Legal Hurdles

A spokesperson for executor John Branca has pushed back against these claims, stating that the trust cannot be fully funded until several legal hurdles are cleared. A primary concern is ongoing litigation with the Internal Revenue Service, which previously sought $700 million in taxes and penalties. While the estate secured a ruling to significantly reduce this amount, the matter remains unsettled and subject to change.

The estate has characterized the claim that it is withholding payments as a fabrication, asserting that more than $200 million has already been distributed for the beneficiaries’ benefit. They further noted that under the terms of the will, the children are not due for a full distribution until they enter their 30s. The estate maintains that it intends to fully fund the trusts once all legal issues are resolved.

In response, a spokesperson for Paris Jackson accused the estate of incompetence and argued that the executor had the ability and obligation to partially fund the trust long ago. This disagreement is part of a broader conflict regarding the management of the estate and the transparency of its financial disclosures.

Challenges To Estate Administration

Beyond the funding of the trust, Paris has filed a separate motion accusing John Branca of failing to meet court-ordered deadlines for filing complete financial accountings for 2023 and 2024. While the estate claims these accountings have been filed, Paris’s legal team argues that the documents are deficient. This dispute also touches upon management fees; while co-executor John McClain passed away in May, Branca remains the sole executor. The estate notes that both executors waived their standard compensation in favor of a court-ordered management fee for operating the business.

A judge is scheduled to hear the petition regarding the trust funding and the challenge to the management fees on December 4. These legal battles come years after the singer’s death in June 2009, which was ruled a homicide caused by acute propofol intoxication, along with the effects of sedatives. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, was subsequently convicted of involuntary manslaughter.