Jackson’s will puts assets in trust

LOS ANGELES – The first hints about Michael Jackson’s final wishes surfaced Tuesday in a will he signed nearly seven years ago to the day, and although details won’t be available until the document is filed in a court, there’s nothing to indicate that its instructions are at odds with the hasty arrangements made by the singer’s mother and father.

The will gives guardianship over his children to the singer’s mother and leaves all his assets in a trust fund, a person with knowledge of the document told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The will was signed July 7, 2002, and named as executors Jackson’s longtime lawyer John Branca and John McClain, a music executive and a family friend, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the topic.

The will surfaced just a day after the family said in court documents it believed the 50-year-old entertainer had died without a valid will and moved to take control over his lucrative, but debt-encumbered estate.

In response, Judge Mitchell Beckloff granted Jackson’s 79-year-old mother Katherine Jackson temporary guardianship of her son’s three children, who range in age from 7 to 12.

The judge also gave her control over some of her son’s personal property that is now in the hands of an unnamed third party. But the judge did not immediately rule on her requests to take charge of the children’s and Jackson’s estates.

The move by Jackson’s family to proactively take legal action does not seem to be conflict with the singer’s stated desire to have his children put under his parents’ care and their financial welfare assured.

Experts said the personal bankruptcy of Jackson’s parents in 1999 could work against Katherine Jackson taking control of the estate.

Court documents show Katherine and Joe Jackson filed for Chapter 7 and listed nearly $24 million in debts that included court judgments, auto loans and credit cards. The only valuable asset listed was a house in Las Vegas then valued at $290,000. The bankruptcy was terminated in March 2007, but the documents gave no further details.

“I think it would be a negative factor but not necessarily a disqualifier,” said Beth Kaufman, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney specializing in estate tax issues. “It could indicate that she is not capable of sound financial management.”