The executors of Michael Jackson’s trust told the King of Pop’s kids and mom to beat it, for now, at least. A May 28 lawsuit revealed that beneficiaries, including Paris, Prince, Bigi, and Jackson’s mom, Katherine, will not receive financial distributions from the estate until a dispute with the IRS is cleared up, People reports. Attorneys for the family requested that a portion of the estate be withheld and “remain subject to administration.†The estate rejected their request, arguing they cannot “possibly determine what amount could be safely distributed at this time,†the filing says.
Why exactly are they locking the family out of the estate? Executors have been stuck in an ongoing dispute with the IRS since 2021 over the estate’s federal tax return. It began when the agency issued “a notice of deficiency,†claiming the estate “undervalued its assets†and owed “an additional $700 million in taxes and penalties,†according to the filing. Since then, the estate won a 2021 legal dispute in tax court. Things could have settled there, but the estate continued the battle by filing a motion for reconsideration of the court’s value of Jackson’s music catalogue, Mijac, which is still pending. To complicate matters, the trust says “20 percent of the estate ‘as valued for federal estate tax purposes’†must go to charity before anything is distributed to beneficiaries. Executors hope to figure out a “family allowance†while they wait for the new valuation.
The latest battle between the the Michael Jackson estate and its beneficiaries comes two months after Katherine’s feud with grandson Bigi over her decision to use the trust fund to pay her legal fees in a dispute with Sony. First the King of Rock and Roll had trust issues, and now the King of Pop … who’s next?