What you need to know
Paris Jackson has filed new legal documents in the dispute over her late father Michael Jackson’s estate, this time alleging that the executors of her estate abused their role to line their own pockets.
Parris, 27, filed an objection in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday, November 18, over the estate’s 2021 fiscal year financial report. She and her brother only received that report in September, about four years late.
In her application, Ms Parris expressed concern about the “significant amount of cash” remaining uninvested by co-executors John Branca and John McClain, and said she felt their management decisions were not in the estate’s best interests. She is the beneficiary of the “Thriller” singer’s estate, along with her brothers Prince, 28, and Bigi. twenty three.
“Rather than serving the best interests of the beneficiaries and steadfastly preserving his father’s legacy, the City of Paris has become increasingly concerned that John Branca is becoming a vehicle for his own enrichment and expansion,” the filing states.
Pascal Le Segretin/Getty; Michael Ochs Archive/Getty
“This is another misguided attempt by Paris Jackson’s lawyers to protect themselves,” a source close to Jackson’s estate claims. “The fact is that Paris Jackson’s attorneys lost the latest lawsuit against the Estate and are ordered to pay the Estate’s legal fees. All of the beneficiaries are well taken care of by the Estate. This is a feeble attempt to change the narrative of their defeat.”
The City of Paris claims that in 2021 alone, the executors received more than $10 million in compensation from the estate administrator, “more than twice the amount distributed to beneficiaries from the family allowance,” according to the filing. She also estimates that the executor’s total compensation will be $148.2 million by the end of 2021, a figure that is “far below the amount distributed to Paris and her siblings.”
The city of Paris said in its filing that the executors held more than $464 million in cash, with less than 0.1% of the profits from “unproductive investments.” She claims that if the money had been invested properly, she could have made a profit of $41 million.
The singer-songwriter’s filing further raises concerns about the executor’s decision to invest in “risky” entertainment projects without the necessary industry experience, including Michael, the Jackson biopic in which executive producer Branca cast Miles Teller as himself.
“(The estate) has been transformed into a private entertainment investment fund managed for the benefit of the executors and their attorneys rather than the beneficiaries,” the filing states.
Alan Chapman/Dave Bennett/Getty
The executors have not released their accounts for 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 to date, but Paris said he believed they were dragging their feet to keep the property open “indefinitely” in order to continue pursuing high-risk investments.
Her application came after the executors filed a complaint with the court in October alleging that Paris received approximately $65 million in benefits from the estate.
When Jackson died in 2009, he was more than $500 million in debt, but his executors claim in filings that he took over a struggling estate and turned it into “a great power and force in the music business.”
They previously pushed back against Paris’ claims that she gave gifts and gratuities worth $625,000 to three different law firms, calling the allegations “deliberately false.”
The City of Paris is asking the court to reject the report and order the executors to prepare and submit a full account of their “true actions”. The case is scheduled for trial on January 13, 2026.
