Credit: Luca Faz Photo / Smithsonian Institue
Thu 14 May 2026 10:57, UK
Paris Jackson, the daughter of Michael Jackson, has won a legal battle in which over $600,000 is now set to be returned to her father’s estate.
Paris was fighting against the executors of her father’s estate, John Branca and John McClain, after she raised an issue last year regarding $625,000 in bonuses which had been paid from the estate to third-party legal firms in 2018.
The 28-year-old became one of three beneficiaries to the estate for the ‘King of Pop’ after he died in 2009, alongside her brothers, Prince and Bigi.
Subsequently, after a judge ruled in Jackson’s favour, the money will now be paid back to the estate, in an attempt to make the processes on how they handle the late singer’s finances more transparent.
According to The Independent, a spokesperson for Paris said, “Paris has always been focused on what’s best for her family and this ruling is a massive win for them,” before adding, “After years of delay, the Jackson family will finally get the transparency and accountability measures Paris has fought for.”
They continued: “The Jackson Estate is supposed to be a prudent, fiscally responsible entity that supports the Jackson family – not a slush fund to help John Branca live out his Hollywood mogul fantasies.”
The comments seemingly relate to the new film biopic of the star’s life, Michael, which his daughter previously said she had “zero per cent involvement” in.
In the movie, Branca is played by Miles Teller, and the estate has significantly financed the making of the production, which was directed by Antoine Fuqua.
Jackson criticised the film on Instagram last year, after Colman Domingo, who plays her grandfather, Joe Jackson, said that she and her brothers were fully supportive of the project.
She subsequently posted: “I read one of the first drafts of the script and gave my thoughts on what was dishonest/didn’t sit right with me and when they didn’t address it I moved on with my life. Not my monkeys not my circus. God bless and god speed.”
Following the ruling, Branca and McClain released a statement in which they pointed out that the judge had noted their “exceptional service to the estate.” Despite this, they added: “Ultimately, while we disagree with the decision, we fully respect it and plan to move forward accordingly.”
Michael has caused controversy with the fact that child sexual abuse allegations against the late singer were omitted from the movie.
The Jackson estate were then forced to spend $15 million on reshoots, after they discovered that in the legal settlement with Evan Chandler in 1993, who accused the star of sexually abusing his 13-year-old son, they were forbidden from depicting the allegations or mentioning the child’s name.
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