Michael Jackson‘s mother Katherine has lost her bid to stop a $600 million deal to sell off his songs.
The executors of the late King of Pop’s estate — John Branca and A R executive John McClain — who also run the family’s trust, announced plans to sell off a portion of Jackson’s tracks to Sony Music Group back in 2022 but the plan was met with resistance from Katherine, who filed a number of objections insisting the sale would be contrary to her son’s wishes.
However, a Los Angeles appeals court has now ruled the sale can go ahead declaring Katherine’s objections “lack merit.”
“The will gave the executors broad powers of sale, with no exception for the specific assets at issue in this case.
“As such, the probate court did not err in concluding that it was Michael’s intent to allow the executors to sell any estate assets, including those at issue in the proposed transaction … all of the estate’s assets will be distributed to the trust,” the ruling declares.
The late singer’s millions are handled by the Michael Jackson Family Trust and the beneficiaries are believed to be his three children Prince, Paris and Bigi — also known as Blanket — as well as a number of charities.
Katherine is a beneficiary of a sub-trust, which allows the trustees to pay for her “care, support, maintenance, comfort and well-being.”
She previously claimed the singer — who died in 2009 after suffering a drug overdose — had wanted to keep the estate’s assets in the family.
It comes after a report suggested the “Thriller” star was more than $500 million in debt at the time of his death.
Documents seen by People revealed Jackson — well-known for his extravagant spending habits — owed hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid debts and was busy writing new songs and preparing for a residency at The 02 in London in a bid to bring his financial troubles back under control.
