Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, has lost a dispute with her son’s estate regarding the proposed sale of MJ’s music catalog to Sony Music.
According to Rolling Stone, the matriarch of the Jackson family opposes selling the catalog because she says the sale violates the terms of Michael’s will. The appellate court ruled since she had a chance to contest it last year she can’t do so now on appeal.
The estate’s executors, John Branca and John McClain, said Katherine Jackson “forfeited” that opportunity by not raising that argument when a court approved the deal more than a year ago.
The three-judge panel from California’s Second Appellate District ruled that even if Katherine Jackson had raised that issue in the probate court the result would have been the same. The judges agreed with the judge’s ruling that Branca and McClain had the full power and authority to negotiate the sale.
“Katherine did not contend [in the lower court] that the sale violated the terms of Michael’s will or were inconsistent with the Probate Code. Indeed, as the executors note, Katherine agreed in the probate court that the will gives the executors the power to sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of the estate’s real or personal property,” the judges wrote.
“We tentatively conclude that Katherine’s challenge fails on the merits because the probate court’s order does not violate the terms of Michael’s will.”
Earlier this year, it was reported that Sony Music Group had signed an agreement to purchase half of MJ‘s publishing and masters catalog. The assets included in his catalog are valued to be between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion. With the valuation being at a minimum of $1.2 billion, it means that SONY Music Group will pay the estate at least $600 million.
The beneficiaries for MJ’s estate are his three children—Prince, Paris, and Blanket. In his will, it was stipulated that his mother, Katherine, be taken care of for the rest of her life.
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