Paris Jackson Asks Court to Move $600 Million of Michael Jackson's Estate to Family Trust

Paris Jackson, the daughter of Michael Jackson, has asked a Los Angeles court to order that $600 million from her father's estate be moved into a family trust for her and her siblings. PEOPLE reported the petition on Nov. 2, and Star News Korea relayed the account.

The estate's administrators oppose the request. They say unresolved legal matters, including a tax dispute with the IRS, prevent a transfer of that size. A court hearing is set for Dec. 4. The claims below come from the parties' filings as reported and have not been decided by the court.

What is Paris Jackson asking the court to do?

According to the reports, Paris Jackson, 28, filed court documents on Oct. 29 asking for an order to transfer $600 million of the estate to a family trust set up for the three Jackson children. Her filing argues that more than 17 years after her father died in 2009, money has still not been placed in that trust.

Michael Jackson's children are Prince, 29, Paris, 28, and Bigi, 24.

How was the trust supposed to work?

The court documents describe a schedule for each child. They were entitled to income from their trust shares starting at age 21 and to part of the trust principal starting at age 30. Further distributions were set for ages 35 and 40.

Paris Jackson's side argues that the distribution her father intended has not been properly carried out.

Why does her side say the money is there?

The filing points to several large transactions. Estate administrators sold the estate's stake in EMI Music Publishing for $287.5 million in 2018 and sold Neverland Ranch for $22 million in 2020. In 2023, they also completed a major deal with Sony covering music and intellectual property rights.

Her side claims these deals brought more than $1 billion in cash into the estate. It also says that at the end of 2024 the estate held about $850 million in cash and cash equivalents, and that even after debts, $600 million could go to the trust.

She further claims that since she began raising questions last year about how the estate is managed, the money paid to her and her siblings has dropped by millions of dollars.

What do the estate's administrators say?

The administrators dispute her account. They say they cannot move all the funds into the trust while legal issues remain open, including a tax case with the IRS. They note that the IRS earlier demanded about $700 million in taxes and penalties tied to the estate. That figure was later reduced significantly, they said, but the dispute is not over.

They also deny that payments to the children were stopped or cut. According to the report, they say more than $200 million has already been paid for the three children.

Paris Jackson's side replied that the administrators are dodging responsibility. It says they had both the means and the duty to move part of the assets into the family trust.

Is this the first dispute between them?

No. Earlier this year, in May, a court ruled that the administrators must return a $625,000 bonus, which had been paid to an outside law firm, to the estate, according to the report.

Why does it matter, and what happens next?

The case is a rare public look at how a celebrity estate's money is managed and when it reaches heirs. The two sides disagree on two basic points: how much cash the estate can safely release, and whether the unresolved IRS matter justifies holding it back. Reports so far do not say how the court may view either argument.

Paris Jackson is 28, and under the trust schedule described in the documents, the first principal distribution begins at age 30. The court will hear the petition on Dec. 4.

Around Prague, based on reporting by 스타뉴스