Courts may decide who controls Jackson''s estate

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson''s family took steps on Monday to become guardians of his children and take control of his multimillion dollar estate, but lawyers said they could face protracted legal battles.

Jackson''s mother, Katherine, won a temporary court order to administer her son''s estate after filing legal documents saying her family could not find a will for the singer.

But celebrity Website TMZ.com reported that Michael Jackson''s longtime attorney, John Branca, has a will that he plans to file with California''s courts. Branca did not return phone calls for comment.

The court filing by Katherine Jackson states the value of the estate as either "unknown" or "to be determined."

At the time of his death on Thursday, Jackson, 50, had assets that included a 50 percent stake in music company Sony/ATV, said to be worth between $500 million and $1 billion, and complete ownership of Mijac Music, a music publishing entity that owns copyrights to Jackson''s own songs.

"When you have entertainers and musicians, they usually have quite extensive royalty contracts. It''s very tough to put a value on a catalog of songs," said attorney Renee Gabbard of the law firm California-based Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker.

Jackson also was reported to also have about $500 million in debt, which would have to be paid from the estate, along with taxes.

"It is complicated, very complicated because now the estate will be distributed in accordance with the laws of the state of California, rather than a will," said entertainment attorney Jerry Reisman of New York firm, Reisman, Peirez and Reisman.

If there is no will, lawyers said a judge would appoint an attorney or other administrator to look after the Jackson children''s interests if and when they are determined to be the sole beneficiaries of Jackson''s estate. The singer''s three children are aged 12, 11, and 7.

Katherine Jackson is asking the California court to rule that her son died without a will and that she is therefore the best person to care for the children and to administer the estate on their behalf.

A hearing on her temporary guardianship is set for July 6.

If Branca does produce a will, Gabbard said it will have to be examined closely to make sure it is legally binding.

"That could take quite a long time to look at," she said.

Also complicating the issue is that the mother of Jackson''s two eldest children, Debbie Rowe, from whom Jackson was divorced, could assert her rights to guardianship. But so far, it is unclear if she will. Her attorney did not return calls.

Asked at a Monday news conference about Rowe, Jackson''s father, Joe, said: "Debbie Rowe has nothing to do with what we''re doing."

(Additional reporting by Gina Keating)