Paris Jackson Seeks $600 Million From Her Father’s Estate

Paris Jackson is asking a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to direct her late father’s estate to transfer $600 million to the Michael Jackson Family Trust, created to provide for Paris and her brothers, Prince and Bigi. Her October 29 petition says the trust remains unfunded despite the estate’s substantial earnings and assets, more than 17 years after Michael Jackson’s death in 2009, at age 50.

The filing accuses executor John Branca of controlling the amounts the siblings receive, which Paris says are below what the trust provides. The terms call for income payments starting at 21, followed by distributions at 30, 35 and 40. Paris argues that the estate can make a partial transfer while meeting its obligations, and estimates about $600 million is available after potential liabilities.

The petition cites the estate’s 2018 sale of its stake in EMI Music Publishing for $287.5 million, Neverland Ranch’s $22 million sale in 2020, and a 2023 deal with Sony worth $750 million upfront for half of the estate’s remaining intellectual property. It also says the estate held about $850 million in cash and equivalents as of December 2024 and had been valued at $2 billion to $3 billion.

The estate says it cannot fully fund the trusts until legal issues, especially an unresolved IRS dispute involving a $700 million tax and penalty claim, are settled. It disputes that payments were withheld or reduced and says more than $200 million has already gone to or benefited the heirs. Paris’s representative says a partial transfer could have been made earlier. A hearing is scheduled for December.