Katherine Jackson, the mother of Michael Jackson, is currently in a legal battle to gain access to funds from her late son’s estate. The dispute arose when Michael’s youngest son, Bigi, filed court documents to prevent her from using the estate money to cover her legal fees related to an undisclosed legal issue, which is believed to be connected to the estate’s recent $600 million deal with Sony. In response, Katherine filed a complaint stating that the estate’s executors have more than enough funds to cover her $500,000 legal fees and should do so.
In her complaint, Katherine alleges that the estate executors are holding onto the assets in order to maintain control and avoid having to distribute the funds more liberally according to the trust’s requirements. She argues that the estate has more than sufficient funds available to cover her costs without impacting the beneficiaries. Despite not being a beneficiary of her son’s main estate, Katherine is a beneficiary of a separate trust, which further complicates the situation.
Katherine also refutes the executors’ claim that they are obligated to donate a portion of the estate money to charities before distributing it to other beneficiaries. Bigi, previously known as Blanket, initially supported his grandmother’s objections to the Sony deal but later dropped out of the legal battle when a judge ruled in favor of the transaction. The estate claimed in court filings that Katherine has received over $55 million since Michael’s death, with a significant portion coming from a monthly allowance.
The estate’s executors argue that Katherine should be able to fund her legal battle herself and should not rely on the estate for financial support. Despite this, Bigi has indicated his support for covering reasonable attorney fees and costs related to Katherine’s initial objection to the deal. He was born via surrogate in 2002 and is the youngest son of Michael Jackson, with siblings Prince and Paris also involved in the family’s ongoing estate affairs. The situation remains unresolved as Katherine continues to fight for access to the funds she believes she is entitled to.