Battle to control Jackson's fortune begins

**Prince** · 06-30-2009, 09:17 AM

Battle to control Jackson's fortune begins

LOS ANGELES - So, who gets Michael Jackson's riches?

His mother took the first step Monday when she petitioned the Superior Court of California to be named the administrator of the late singer's estate. Katherine Jackson said in the filing she was acting to ensure Michael Jackson's three children are the beneficiaries.

It's the opening salvo in a complicated battle for a fortune that includes a lucrative music catalog of the King of Pop's own hits, the rights to songs by the Beatles, and the Neverland ranch that could one day be a tourist attraction.

There's even an elaborate video production, dubbed the "Dome Project," that was overseen by Jackson and finished two weeks before he died.

The high stakes and array of people involved will likely make the fight far more convoluted than recent high-profile squabbles over the estates of singer James Brown and ex-Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith.

"There's no doubt that there's going to be a big battle," said Alexis Martin Neely, a Los Angeles-based estate attorney. "It's going to be very messy and I don't see anything comparing to this."

Complicating matters is that few, if any, people know all the details of the reclusive entertainer's financial affairs. His mother's filing, for example, declares that Jackson died "intestate," or without a will. But that is in dispute. Another person with knowledge of Jackson's business matters told The Associated Press last Friday that there is a will, which would take precedent in court. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the material.

Becoming an estate administrator "puts a vast amount of power in one person's hands," said Roy Kozupsky, a lawyer with Smith, Gambrell & Russell. The person would have the power to sell assets, make deals and determine how to pay off creditors, he said.

At stake is Jackson's 50 percent ownership in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a company itself estimated to be worth $2 billion; Jackson's own recordings and songwriting rights, which could be worth more than $150 million; and his joint ownership of the Neverland ranch.

Katherine Jackson said in her filing she intends to use the estate's assets for "the exclusive use of the decedent's (Jackson's) three children." But the filing could also be the first move in contesting the validity of a will, if there is one, Kozupsky said.

Jackson, who died Thursday at age 50, left behind three children: son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and son Prince Michael II, 7. The youngest was born to a surrogate mother, while the first two were born to ex-wife Deborah Rowe.

The list of potential parties seeking a piece of Jackson's estate is long, ranging from financial firms to the companies involved in his planned comeback. Among them is AEG Live, the concert promoter that booked Jackson for 50 sold-out performances at London's O2 arena starting next month.

AEG Live reportedly gave Jackson a $20 million advance, which it may seek to recover from the estate. AEG Live declined to comment.

How much AEG can recover will likely depend on the wording of insurance policies it took out and whether they included protection against "medical conditions or another event," said Mary Craig Calkins, a partner at Howrey LLP who handles insurance recovery cases for TV and film productions.

The promoter took out about $18 million in insurance through Lloyd's of London, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.

A big part of determining what the estate is worth — and how much it owes in taxes — will depend on how much Jackson owed to creditors. Estimates put the tally around $400 million.

The federal government will be able to collect around 45 percent in tax on the value of the estate's assets, minus its debts and administration costs including attorney fees.

It appears that the most valuable assets will likely remain in the estate's control.

The Sony/ATV stake and 100 percent of Mijac, the company that controls Michael Jackson's own music, were held in a trust whose beneficiaries are Jackson's children. That trust is safe from creditors, said Al Malnik, its former trustee and Jackson's business adviser from 2002 to 2005.

"The assets were protected through the trust against creditors," Malnik said Monday.

Jackson used those assets as collateral to secure $200 million in loans from Bank of America in 2001. He then refinanced several times. Malnik said the loan total reached $275 million by the time he quit as trustee in 2005. Fortress Investment Group LLC, which took control in 2005, sold the loans off entirely "over a year ago," said company spokeswoman Lilly Donohue.

It is unclear who holds the loans now, but one candidate is Colony Capital LLC, a Los Angeles real estate firm owned by billionaire Thomas Barrack, which also set up a joint venture with Jackson to own Neverland, the 2,500-acre property in Santa Barbara County that once included amusement park rides and zoo animals.

Barrack had lunch with Jackson brothers Jackie, Jermaine and Tito on Saturday at Neverland.

Jackson's estate is still growing through record sales and songwriting rights.

So far this year, some 297,000 of his albums have sold in the U.S., and that's not including last week, when sales spiked in the wake of the singer's death. Jackson's existing works will continue to sell well, said Keith Caulfield, senior charts manager for Billboard magazine.

"He's good for at least a half a million albums a year," Caulfield said.

Songwriting rights also keep earning revenue. Jackson wrote many of the songs he recorded including "Beat It," "Bad," and "Black or White."

For the past three years, Jackson has ranked among the top-earning 100 U.S. songwriters for royalty payments collected by Broadcast Music Inc.

"Michael Jackson is the number one international songwriter in the world for BMI. He is it," BMI chief executive Del Bryant said, adding that use of the singer's songs outside of the U.S. earn more than $1 million dollars annually just for Jackson's share of the royalties.

Warner-Chappell Music, a division of Warner Music Group Corp., is Jackson's music publisher, meaning it promotes use of his songs and lyrics in commercials and TV shows. Jackson's own works, plus scores of song rights he purchased, gross several million dollars per year.

Jackson also owns the master recordings of his own albums such as "Thriller" and "Bad" and had a distribution deal with Sony, according to a person familiar with his finances, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the material.

The surge in interest in his music could inflate the value of assets held by his estate, and the tax bill owed to the U.S. government.

"Unfortunately due to his demise, the value of these entities has increased substantially," Malnik said.

source

min0 lee · 06-30-2009, 10:07 AM

Michael Jackson's Will Surfaces

We've learned Michael Jackson's lawyer has a copy of the singer's will and he intends to file it with the court.

We're told the Jackson family doesn't have a copy of the will in attorney John Branca's possession. It's unclear how many wills Jackson made but Branca believes it's the most current.

Branca has a long history with Jackson. In 1985, Branca brokered the deal for Jackson to purchase The Beatles' publishing catalogue.

Branca and Jackson stopped working together in 2006 but the singer hired him back just three weeks ago.

min0 lee · 06-30-2009, 11:03 AM

There are going to be so many news ugly stories now.

Watch Joe Jackson Stoically Use His Son's Death to Plug a DVD

How can he do that to his own son. Lack of class.

Now the kids are going to go through hell now.

http://dlisted.com/node/32722

They weren't even from his sack.

min0 lee · 06-30-2009, 11:24 AM

Jackson Left His Father Out of Most Recent Will

Quote:

A will drafted by Michael Jackson in 2002 which divides the singer's estate among his mother, three children and one or more charities could play a central role in determining how his tangled financial relationships will be unwound.

freakinhuge · 06-30-2009, 12:03 PM

This battle for money is definitely going to get very ugly.

maniclion · 06-30-2009, 02:59 PM

It may take a while for his estate to get out of the Negative Numbers, but still it would be a lucrative investment for a wealthy man willing to wait for it to mature, whomever gets it in his family will likely sell it to some Saudi Prince or something stupid like that......

I think his estate only gets 25% of the royalties from Beatles songs, a good chunk of change but the whole thing, Sony get's the other 25 and Paul Mcartney and the Lennon Estate get the other 50% to split......

**Prince** · 06-30-2009, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maniclion

It may take a while for his estate to get out of the Negative Numbers, but still it would be a lucrative investment for a wealthy man willing to wait for it to mature, whomever gets it in his family will likely sell it to some Saudi Prince or something stupid like that......

I think his estate only gets 25% of the royalties from Beatles songs, a good chunk of change but the whole thing, Sony get's the other 25 and Paul Mcartney and the Lennon Estate get the other 50% to split......

He has a will, his estate is going to his mother, 3 kids and charities, they say he is about $500 million in debt, but after paying off the debt hs is still worth about $200 million, plus he will continue to make millions per year dead from royalties, in other words his 3 kids are set for life.

maniclion · 06-30-2009, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prince

He has a will, his estate is going to his mother, 3 kids and charities, they say he is about $500 million in debt, but after paying off the debt is still worth about $200 million, plus he will continue to make millions per year dead from royalties, in other words his 3 kids are set for life.

You can't visualize some Oil Royalty Saudi offering a billions for the whole thing? The Arabs love MJ almost as much as Allah......

**Prince** · 06-30-2009, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maniclion

You can't visualize some Oil Royalty Saudi offering a billions for the whole thing? The Arabs love MJ almost as much as Allah......

It would be stupid to sell anything IMO, his kids will be able to live like Elvis's daughter, Elvis makes much more money dead than he ever did alive, I am sure that MJ will be the same way eventually.

maniclion · 06-30-2009, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prince

It would be stupid to sell anything IMO, his kids will be able to live like Elvis's daughter, Elvis makes much more money dead than he ever did alive, I am sure that MJ will be the same way eventually.

I think most any of the great artists works are that way.....I bet his royalties over just the past few days has been a huge boost......

**Prince** · 06-30-2009, 03:35 PM

in another thread someone posted something about "where's the body", there will be a public viewing of his body at Neverland Ranch this Friday.

lola1182 · 06-30-2009, 03:51 PM

has anyone heard if/when his funeral might be aired on television?

06-30-2009, 09:17 AM	#1
Prince IronMagLabs Owner Administrator Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Colorado Posts: 37,274 Photos: 356	Battle to control Jackson's fortune begins Battle to control Jackson's fortune begins LOS ANGELES - So, who gets Michael Jackson's riches? His mother took the first step Monday when she petitioned the Superior Court of California to be named the administrator of the late singer's estate. Katherine Jackson said in the filing she was acting to ensure Michael Jackson's three children are the beneficiaries. It's the opening salvo in a complicated battle for a fortune that includes a lucrative music catalog of the King of Pop's own hits, the rights to songs by the Beatles, and the Neverland ranch that could one day be a tourist attraction. There's even an elaborate video production, dubbed the "Dome Project," that was overseen by Jackson and finished two weeks before he died. The high stakes and array of people involved will likely make the fight far more convoluted than recent high-profile squabbles over the estates of singer James Brown and ex-Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith. "There's no doubt that there's going to be a big battle," said Alexis Martin Neely, a Los Angeles-based estate attorney. "It's going to be very messy and I don't see anything comparing to this." Complicating matters is that few, if any, people know all the details of the reclusive entertainer's financial affairs. His mother's filing, for example, declares that Jackson died "intestate," or without a will. But that is in dispute. Another person with knowledge of Jackson's business matters told The Associated Press last Friday that there is a will, which would take precedent in court. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the material. Becoming an estate administrator "puts a vast amount of power in one person's hands," said Roy Kozupsky, a lawyer with Smith, Gambrell & Russell. The person would have the power to sell assets, make deals and determine how to pay off creditors, he said. At stake is Jackson's 50 percent ownership in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a company itself estimated to be worth $2 billion; Jackson's own recordings and songwriting rights, which could be worth more than $150 million; and his joint ownership of the Neverland ranch. Katherine Jackson said in her filing she intends to use the estate's assets for "the exclusive use of the decedent's (Jackson's) three children." But the filing could also be the first move in contesting the validity of a will, if there is one, Kozupsky said. Jackson, who died Thursday at age 50, left behind three children: son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and son Prince Michael II, 7. The youngest was born to a surrogate mother, while the first two were born to ex-wife Deborah Rowe. The list of potential parties seeking a piece of Jackson's estate is long, ranging from financial firms to the companies involved in his planned comeback. Among them is AEG Live, the concert promoter that booked Jackson for 50 sold-out performances at London's O2 arena starting next month. AEG Live reportedly gave Jackson a $20 million advance, which it may seek to recover from the estate. AEG Live declined to comment. How much AEG can recover will likely depend on the wording of insurance policies it took out and whether they included protection against "medical conditions or another event," said Mary Craig Calkins, a partner at Howrey LLP who handles insurance recovery cases for TV and film productions. The promoter took out about $18 million in insurance through Lloyd's of London, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment. A big part of determining what the estate is worth — and how much it owes in taxes — will depend on how much Jackson owed to creditors. Estimates put the tally around $400 million. The federal government will be able to collect around 45 percent in tax on the value of the estate's assets, minus its debts and administration costs including attorney fees. It appears that the most valuable assets will likely remain in the estate's control. The Sony/ATV stake and 100 percent of Mijac, the company that controls Michael Jackson's own music, were held in a trust whose beneficiaries are Jackson's children. That trust is safe from creditors, said Al Malnik, its former trustee and Jackson's business adviser from 2002 to 2005. "The assets were protected through the trust against creditors," Malnik said Monday. Jackson used those assets as collateral to secure $200 million in loans from Bank of America in 2001. He then refinanced several times. Malnik said the loan total reached $275 million by the time he quit as trustee in 2005. Fortress Investment Group LLC, which took control in 2005, sold the loans off entirely "over a year ago," said company spokeswoman Lilly Donohue. It is unclear who holds the loans now, but one candidate is Colony Capital LLC, a Los Angeles real estate firm owned by billionaire Thomas Barrack, which also set up a joint venture with Jackson to own Neverland, the 2,500-acre property in Santa Barbara County that once included amusement park rides and zoo animals. Barrack had lunch with Jackson brothers Jackie, Jermaine and Tito on Saturday at Neverland. Jackson's estate is still growing through record sales and songwriting rights. So far this year, some 297,000 of his albums have sold in the U.S., and that's not including last week, when sales spiked in the wake of the singer's death. Jackson's existing works will continue to sell well, said Keith Caulfield, senior charts manager for Billboard magazine. "He's good for at least a half a million albums a year," Caulfield said. Songwriting rights also keep earning revenue. Jackson wrote many of the songs he recorded including "Beat It," "Bad," and "Black or White." For the past three years, Jackson has ranked among the top-earning 100 U.S. songwriters for royalty payments collected by Broadcast Music Inc. "Michael Jackson is the number one international songwriter in the world for BMI. He is it," BMI chief executive Del Bryant said, adding that use of the singer's songs outside of the U.S. earn more than $1 million dollars annually just for Jackson's share of the royalties. Warner-Chappell Music, a division of Warner Music Group Corp., is Jackson's music publisher, meaning it promotes use of his songs and lyrics in commercials and TV shows. Jackson's own works, plus scores of song rights he purchased, gross several million dollars per year. Jackson also owns the master recordings of his own albums such as "Thriller" and "Bad" and had a distribution deal with Sony, according to a person familiar with his finances, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the material. The surge in interest in his music could inflate the value of assets held by his estate, and the tax bill owed to the U.S. government. "Unfortunately due to his demise, the value of these entities has increased substantially," Malnik said. source IronMagLabs 1-ANDRO Rx Pro-Hormone - BUY 2 GET 1 FREE SPECIAL! BOARD SPONSORS: MassNutrition.com - Discount Supplement Superstore AlltheWhey.com - Bulk Protein Powders CEMProducts.com - Research Chemicals & Supplements MusclesProd.com - Steroids, Bodybuilding, Fitness & Training Blog. Maximizer.com - Maximizer Strength for Maximum Performance Befriend on Myspace Follow on Twitter

06-30-2009, 10:07 AM	#2
min0 lee Senior Member Elite Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: The Bronx, NYC Posts: 38,735 Photos: 542	Michael Jackson's Will Surfaces We've learned Michael Jackson's lawyer has a copy of the singer's will and he intends to file it with the court. We're told the Jackson family doesn't have a copy of the will in attorney John Branca's possession. It's unclear how many wills Jackson made but Branca believes it's the most current. Branca has a long history with Jackson. In 1985, Branca brokered the deal for Jackson to purchase The Beatles' publishing catalogue. Branca and Jackson stopped working together in 2006 but the singer hired him back just three weeks ago. How To Do The Perfect Bench Press Rep Bodybuilding and Lifting Weights, the Difference ironmagazine-frapper

06-30-2009, 11:03 AM	#3
min0 lee Senior Member Elite Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: The Bronx, NYC Posts: 38,735 Photos: 542	There are going to be so many news ugly stories now. Watch Joe Jackson Stoically Use His Son's Death to Plug a DVD How can he do that to his own son. Lack of class. Now the kids are going to go through hell now. http://dlisted.com/node/32722 They weren't even from his sack. How To Do The Perfect Bench Press Rep Bodybuilding and Lifting Weights, the Difference ironmagazine-frapper

06-30-2009, 02:59 PM	#6
maniclion Cartographer of the Mind Elite Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Mens Incognita Posts: 20,392 Photos: 10	It may take a while for his estate to get out of the Negative Numbers, but still it would be a lucrative investment for a wealthy man willing to wait for it to mature, whomever gets it in his family will likely sell it to some Saudi Prince or something stupid like that...... I think his estate only gets 25% of the royalties from Beatles songs, a good chunk of change but the whole thing, Sony get's the other 25 and Paul Mcartney and the Lennon Estate get the other 50% to split...... "We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using Natures inexhaustible sources of energy — sun, wind and tide. ... I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that." Thomas Edison: In conversation with Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone

06-30-2009, 03:35 PM	#11
Prince IronMagLabs Owner Administrator Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Colorado Posts: 37,274 Photos: 356	in another thread someone posted something about "where's the body", there will be a public viewing of his body at Neverland Ranch this Friday. IronMagLabs 1-ANDRO Rx Pro-Hormone - BUY 2 GET 1 FREE SPECIAL! BOARD SPONSORS: MassNutrition.com - Discount Supplement Superstore AlltheWhey.com - Bulk Protein Powders CEMProducts.com - Research Chemicals & Supplements MusclesProd.com - Steroids, Bodybuilding, Fitness & Training Blog. Maximizer.com - Maximizer Strength for Maximum Performance Befriend on Myspace Follow on Twitter

06-30-2009, 12:03 PM	#5
freakinhuge Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: United States Posts: 63	This battle for money is definitely going to get very ugly.

06-30-2009, 03:51 PM	#12
lola1182 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: CA Posts: 200	has anyone heard if/when his funeral might be aired on television?

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