Michael Jackson’s Probate Reveals Secrets and an Estate of $600M

[ivy]

I never heard of a trust approved for her.

actually you heard it. Executors asked the judge to approve $30 Million preliminary distribution for the beneficiaries - that means Katherine, MJ's kids and the charities.

There is a chance she would not get access to her trust at all if probate lasts for years.

And even after the probate she will only get whatever the Executors seem necessary for her well being. So long probate or short probate doesn't make that much of a difference for her.

He gave her money for years and never questioned where it went. This is so different from what he did for years.

Not quite true. During recent trial depositions we have learned for example Michael left $1 Million for Katherine with his accountant but refused to give her the $1 Million at one time. He had his accountant to give money / pay bills as necessary. The current will setup is exactly the same.

Furthermore some can even argue that Estate is a lot more giving towards Katherine. For example Katherine had a $6 Million debt to a Korean newspaper since 1995. Michael did not pay his mothers debt for 14 years. Estate paid it.

 

[Petrarose]

Tygger ^^I hope Ivy answered the question you had on the other page. As long as you understand the will & trust that is the key. Ideas about what Michael expected Katherine would do with the money & why he gave her money in the past are another issue, & are influenced by people's opinion. Also, I think you should look at the accounting thread too, which shows what the Estate has paid for Katherine, including her debts so far. As Ivy pointed out Michael knew she had these debts and let them stand, so in a sense the estate is doing a lot to help Katherine here.

Something I wanted to point out from you question to me is that even though you can see why Katherine's children question the will, it does not matter, because under the law Katherine's children have no standing. They are not heirs. This is the way Michael set his trust up. Michael wanted her to be taken care of during her lifetime. So, yes the exec give her the allowance and take care of her based on her needs, and that is the way Michael wanted it. At her death, she cannot say I have 20m left in the trust & will it to her kids. This is not a rare case. There are stories even in the 1600's where the mother sometimes could only use the interest from the principle & when she dies everything goes to the other heirs. (Sometimes the children would kill the old woman who was living too long so they could get their hands on the estate.)

So even if you and Katherine's children & some fans thing this is wrong, this is the way Michael wanted it. Actually, I like what he did. He really wanted his wealth to go to his children, so he let his mom live a luxurious life while she lived and had the rest of the money in her trust go to his children at her death. Good for him. His siblings are feeling his power & might even if he is in the grave, because they cannot get their hands on his kids money. I love it.

 

[Tygger]

Thanks everyone for helping me. I understand the trust much better now.

I don’t think one instance of Michael doling out money to his mother means he did it that way for years but, it’s ok. That time was not the best time and may have something to do with it.

I don’t know the Korean case from 1995 but, all 9 children didn’t help. Michael had his own problems then and maybe none of them felt their mother owed the money. If a judge told her she owes then she owes no matter what. If Michael’s wish is his mother is taken care of and the debt needs to be paid then, it needs to be paid and Michael paid it which is good.

I’m not in the will so I don’t have a standing but, I question it and I can. If this is really Michael’s wish he left others out too like all of the friends, people he hired and families he knew who used him and took his money in his life and that's good too.

 

[ivy]

I don’t think one instance of Michael doling out money to his mother means he did it that way for years but, it’s ok. That time was not the best time and may have something to do with it.

Actually during AEG depositions Katherine said in the last years Michael would have given her $10,000 or $20,000 as she needed it. There's nothing to suggest that Michael ever gave his mother big lump sums of money. Current Estate payments of an average of $36,000 a month personally only for Katherine seems to be very similar to what Michael did before he died.

 

[Tygger]

Actually during AEG depositions Katherine said in the last years Michael would have given her $10,000 or $20,000 as she needed it.

This is what I said at the start. He gave her money and did not concern himself with what she did with it. This is not the same as saying he wanted to give her $20,000 total but, doled out $1,000 at a time. He just gave her the money.

I have no argument with what she gets or the amounts. I only said I can understand why others question the set up for the reasons I said before. I can see why, at her age, she would want large amounts at once to distribute as she wants. None of us even know who she would give the money to or if she would give the money to anyone.

 

[ivy]

This is what I said at the start. He gave her money and did not concern himself with what she did with it. This is not the same as saying he wanted to give her $20,000 total but, doled out $1,000 at a time. He just gave her the money.

I have no argument here. I can see why, at her age, she would want large amounts at once.

well first of all Estate is giving her $33,000 a month and they don't concern themselves with what she does with it

secondly the will doesn't say "give her 40% total".

So I'm not understanding the discussion here. Do you want to rewrite the will?

 

[Tygger]

I re-edited my post as you posted yours Ivy. This seems to be a very sensitive issue for fans but, I'm not sure why. In one of the other will threads I said I didn't think this was the best set up and if Michael did review these documents, he should of gotten a second opinion. I still think that.

Other set-ups do avoid these large tax payments at the start. This is just not the best set-up to me. I like to see Michael with the best.

It's just an opinion.

 

[ivy]

Here's the problem I see.

You are reading a biased article to promote one guys trusts system and with that biased and limited information determine what is perfect or not.

For example irrevocable trust provide tax advantages, revocable trust not so much. According to this you say the set up wasn't the best.

but how about the other differences and what suited for Michael the most?

For example irrevocable trust means you put the asset into a trust, you no longer the owner of it and you cannot access to the assets in that trust. However revocable trust means that you can change the trust any way you want, you can put in assets and you can take out of assets any time you want.

So now my question to you given that how Michael used and borrowed against his assets do you really think an irrevocable trust that he needs to put the assets and cannot touch anymore would be "the best" for him? Wouldn't you agree that perhaps an easy reach to any and all assets at any time could have been a better match during his life time?

In short there are many advantages and disadvantages and it's not correct to say what is best just by looking to one aspect. Yes tax payments could be a disadvantage but access to the assets during his lifetime could have even been a requirement that he cannot live without.

 

[Tygger]

I didn't based anything on this article because I said Michael could have used a second opinion in the other thread done a long time ago.

I do think you brought up a good point about the assets but, the first will (if we believe it) was done in the 1990's. He didn't borrow against his assets back then the way he did later. Maybe he did, I don't know. I could not have predicted he would have a need to borrow against those assets in the 1990's.

I can't change anything now. All I can do is read about it and ask my questions. Thanks for answering them. I appreciate that.