Michael Jackson’s children and his mother are currently experiencing financial difficulties as they have been denied access to the funds from the late singer’s trust.
Prince, aged 27, Paris, aged 25, and Bigi, aged 21, are the beneficiaries of the trust left behind by the late King of Pop. Additionally, Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine, at the age of 94, is the sole beneficiary of a sub trust.
According to documents obtained by People and filed on May 28, Michael’s children and mother will not receive any financial distributions until the dispute between Michael’s estate and the IRS has been resolved.
The attorneys representing the children and Katherine had requested for some funds to be distributed to the family trust while the dispute was still ongoing. However, their request was denied.
The claim suggested that the “family allowance” could support their needs instead.
The ongoing dispute originated after an audit by the IRS of the estate’s federal tax return.
The estate received a “note of deficiency” stating that it had undervalued its assets and had outstanding penalties and taxes amounting to $700 million.
The estate emerged victorious in 2021 when it contested the assessments and successfully won the battle. However, they have now filed for a reconsideration, considering the court’s valuation of Michael’s music catalog, Mijac (owned by Sony Music). The outcome of this reconsideration is still pending.
The estate’s value has not yet been determined for tax purposes, resulting in a disagreement between the estate and the IRS regarding the deduction’s value.
Bigi’s ongoing conflict with his grandmother takes an intriguing turn with the latest development.
In March, he took legal action to prevent his grandmother from using his father’s estate funds during their ongoing legal dispute.
According to documents obtained by TMZ, Bigi attempted to prevent Katherine from using funds from Michael’s estate to finance an appeal in the ongoing legal battle.
Bigi and Katherine have been in agreement until this point as they work together to prevent the executors of Michael’s estate from proceeding with a costly transaction.
Reports suggest that the deal they were opposing involved the sale of Michael’s music catalogue to Sony for a staggering $600 million. Despite the secrecy surrounding the case, this particular transaction became a point of contention for those involved.
Katherine seems determined to challenge the decision, but Bigi believes the legal matter has been resolved and is unwilling to allocate any more funds or assets from the estate, of which he is a beneficiary, towards this fight.
Bigi also requested the court to exercise its discretion in awarding Katherine reasonable attorney fees that were accrued throughout the proceedings.
Katherine opposed the filing and claimed that the estate holds a significant amount of wealth, amounting to “hundreds of millions of dollars.” According to her, even after covering her legal costs, there would still be ample funds left for the beneficiaries.