Paris Jackson has asked a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to reduce the compensation paid to an executor of Michael Jackson’s estate, alleging that financial statements have been filed late or incompletely.
Her application seeks to cut John Branca’s compensation from 15% to 10% of the estate’s gross entertainment-related income for 2023, 2024 and each subsequent year until an accounting for 2026 is filed.
Jackson claims Branca has failed to meet basic responsibilities and describes the alleged shortcomings as “intolerable”. She is also asking the court to order the estate to pay her legal fees and costs, arguing that her challenge will benefit the estate.
The filing says Branca sought approval for $109,219,648.27 in compensation for co-executors and a law firm, while allegedly failing to complete fundamental accounting disclosures.
Estate disputes compensation claim
A representative for Michael Jackson’s estate rejected the application, saying it was “completely without merit” and not based on facts.
“Plaintiff’s attorneys have motioned for a reduction in executor compensation, when in fact the executors waived that from the estate’s beginning, and have never taken any executor compensation,” the representative said.
The representative said the executors instead receive a separate, court-ordered management fee for running what was described as the “hugely successful Michael Jackson business”.
The estate also disputed the proposed penalties relating to the accounts. Its representative said the 2023 and 2024 accountings had already been filed, while the 2025 and 2026 filings were not due for another six and 14 months respectively.
An accounting submitted by Branca earlier this month reportedly showed that Paris Jackson had received about $6.3 million in benefits over the course of the year.
Branca has also opposed an earlier request by Jackson for $1,165,481.90 in legal bills.
