The executors overseeing the multi-million pound estate of the late pop icon Michael Jackson have filed a legal motion demanding his daughter, Paris Jackson, cover approximately $115,000 in legal fees. The sum is directly tied to a recent court battle initiated by the 27-year-old, who has raised serious concerns about the administration of her father's legacy.
Court Filing Details Hefty Legal Costs
Legal representatives for co-executors John Branca and John McClain submitted detailed paperwork to the Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday. The filing, obtained by the Daily Mail, provides a forensic audit of expenses the executors believe the estate should cover for their time and services. A significant portion, $93,924.63 in fees plus $1,238.39 in costs, stemmed from an anti-SLAPP motion.
This motion was a response to legal action Paris Jackson filed in July 2025, which questioned the executors' efforts in managing the Thriller singer's vast estate. The court ultimately granted the anti-SLAPP motion in the executors' favour last November, a victory their lawyers say paved the way for this latest bid to recoup costs.
Paris Jackson's Allegations of Financial Mismanagement
The fee demand is the latest salvo in an escalating conflict. A spokesperson for Paris Jackson told the Daily Mail the executors are "using every tool at their disposal to take even more money from the Jackson family and use it to line their own pockets." The spokesperson stated Paris has worked for months "to address what appear to be troubling discrepancies and financial irregularities."
In legal documents filed late last year, Paris Jackson alleged the administrators have personally reaped "enormous sums of cash" from the estate. She claimed they neglected to properly invest a massive $464 million cash reserve, failing to make the sum "productive" for the beneficiaries. Furthermore, she pointed out that in 2021, ten law firms were paid more than $4.5 million—a figure exceeding distributions to any single beneficiary that year.
A Legacy Entwined with Legal Battles
Michael Jackson died aged 50 on 25 June 2009 from acute propofol intoxication, a death later ruled a homicide. His personal doctor, Conrad Murray, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011. The singer's death triggered a global outpouring of grief and left a complex financial empire, now valued in the hundreds of millions, in the hands of Branca and McClain.
Paris Jackson remains steadfast, with her spokesperson adding she "will continue fighting for transparency, accountability and fairness for her family." The executors, through their legal team, maintain the recent filing simply seeks to "account for the fees and costs incurred" so the court can determine the final award. This ongoing dispute highlights the protracted and often contentious nature of managing one of music's greatest fortunes, ensuring the King of Pop's legacy remains as much a matter for the courts as for his fans.
