Paris Jackson is “concerned” the executors of her late father Michael Jackson’s estate are using their positions to “enrich” themselves.
The 27-year-old singer has filed a new legal document in her dispute with John Branca and John McClain and expressed her concerns at the estate’s accounting for the 2021 calendar year, which she and her siblings Prince, 28, and 23-year-old Bigi only received in September this year.
According to documents obtained by People magazine, Paris raised an issue with the “enormous sums of cash” that remain uninvested by the co-executors and is worried their business decisions are not in the best interests of the estate, of which she and her siblings are the beneficiaries.
The filing stated: “Paris is increasingly concerned the Estate has become the vehicle for John Branca to enrich and aggrandize himself, rather than serve the beneficiaries’ best interests and steadfastly preserve her father’s legacy.”
Paris alleged that just in 2021, the executors took more than $10 million in compensation from the estate, which was “more than double the amount distributed to any beneficiary from the family allowance.”
She estimated their total compensation from Michael’s death in 2009 until 2021 to be $148.2 million, a sum which “dwarfs any amount distributed to Paris or her siblings.”
The Star actress accused McCain and Branca of holding onto more than $464 million in cash, with gains of less than 0.1% due to “unproductive investments and believes there has been a missed profit of around $41 million if the sum had been invested properly.
In addition, the filing raises concerns about investment into “risky” entertainment projects without the necessary industry experience, including the upcoming biopic of her father, Michael, on which Branca serves as executive producer and has cast Miles Teller to play him.
The documents noted: “[The estate has] morphed into a private entertainment investment fund managed more for the benefit of Executors and their counsel than its beneficiaries.”
Accounting for the years since 2021 has not yet been disclosed and Paris believes they have been delayed to keep the estate open “indefinitely” and continue to pursue.
Insiders branded Paris’ legal action “misguided”.
A source close to the estate told People: “This is another misguided attempt by Paris Jackson’s attorneys to provide themselves cover.
“The fact is Paris Jackson’ lawyers lost their latest case against the Estate and have been ordered to pay the Estate’s attorneys’ expenses. All the beneficiaries are well taken care of by the Estate. This is a weak attempt to change the narrative of their loss.”
The executors filed a motion in October which claimed Paris had received around $65 million in benefits from the estate, and they insisted they had taken the struggling estate and turned it into a “powerhouse and a force in the music business” after the Thriller hitmaker died over $500 million in debt.
Branca and McCain previously insisted Paris’ allegation they had given $625,000 in gifts and gratuities to three different law firms was “knowingly false”.
Paris wants the court to disallow the 2021 account, and order the executors to prepare and file an account which is based on their “true acts.”
A hearing in the case is set for 13 January, 2026.
