Paris Jackson Calls Estate Executor's $109 Million Fee 'Offensive'

Paris Jackson has asked a judge to reject a $109,219,648 compensation request from the executors of her father's estate, calling the figure "particularly offensive" in a new court motion obtained by Rolling Stone.

The 12-page motion, filed Friday, targets John Branca, the longtime executor of Michael Jackson's estate. Paris accuses him of "persistent incompetence" and asks the retired judge overseeing the matter to cut Branca's pay from 15 percent to 10 percent of the estate's gross entertainment-related income — retroactive to 2003, and until he files complete accountings through 2006.

What does the motion actually allege?

Paris claims Branca missed his own self-selected September 15 deadline to submit complete financial accountings for 2023 and 2024. Instead, she says, he filed documents that were incomplete or "nothing more than a placeholder." Despite those deficiencies, Branca sought nearly $110 million in combined compensation for himself, his lawyers, and his late co-executor John McClain, who died in May at age 71.

"It is unclear how executor could calculate and distribute such an amount with any confidence and yet be unable to file complete and accurate accountings years later," the motion states. "Paris respectfully submits that the gap between executor's level of compensation and his persistent incompetence is intolerable."

The estate's answer

A spokesperson for the Branca-led estate did not mince words. "It is an understatement to say that this motion is completely without merit," the spokesperson said in a statement shared with Rolling Stone. "[Paris'] attorneys have motioned for a reduction in executor compensation, when in fact the executors waived that from the estate's beginning, and have never taken any executor compensation. They are paid a separate, court-ordered management fee for operating the hugely successful Michael Jackson business."

That distinction — executor compensation versus a management fee — is where the dispute may turn. Paris's motion attacks one category; the estate says it has never drawn from it.

A fight with a track record

Michael Jackson was 50 when he died on June 25, 2009, from an accidental overdose of the surgery-strength anesthetic propofol at his rented Los Angeles mansion. Branca stepped in quickly to manage the affairs. His lawyers have long credited him with transforming an estate carrying more than $500 million in debt into an enterprise valued at roughly $2 billion.

Paris, 28, has won before. In an April 29 ruling, retired judge Mitchell Beckloff ordered three lawyers who worked for the estate to return $625,000 in bonuses Branca had authorized. Beckloff found the estate had failed to demonstrate the payments were "just and reasonable based on the information provided."

"In fact, on the evidence presented, the bonus amounts paid appear arbitrary — what Mr. Branca determined was appropriate," Beckloff wrote. "While Mr. Branca may, in fact, know better than anyone about the value of legal fees, there must be some specific and detailed factual basis for an order finding fees are just and reasonable."

Paris is one of three beneficiaries of the estate, alongside her brothers Prince, 29, and Bigi, 24. Her lawyers acknowledged in recent filings that she did not take up the fight lightly. "This litigation is painful for Paris. It is a distraction from her own life and her own career," they wrote.

The judge has yet to rule on the fee reduction request.