According to TMZ, Paris Jackson is asking the court to sharply reduce the pay of John Branca, executor of her late father Michael Jackson’s estate, arguing he has shown “persistent incompetence” in filing financial statements on time.
In court documents obtained by TMZ, Paris asked a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to lower Branca’s compensation from 15% to 10% of the estate’s gross entertainment-related income.
She wants the cut applied to 2023, 2024, and every year after until a 2026 accounting is filed. She claims Branca submitted late or incomplete financial statements, and that although he sought approval for $109,219,648.27 in compensation for co-executors and a law firm, he still failed to complete basic accounting disclosures. Paris called this alleged failure to meet his core duties “intolerable,” and she also wants the court to award her attorneys’ fees and costs, saying her efforts will benefit the estate.
A rep for the estate strongly rejected the motion, telling TMZ it is entirely without merit and not based on facts. The rep said the executors waived executor compensation from the start and have never taken any, and are instead paid a separate, court-ordered management fee for running the highly successful Michael Jackson business. The rep also called it nonsensical that the motion seeks harsh penalties over the 2023 and 2024 accountings, which have already been filed, and the 2025 and 2026 accountings, which aren’t due for another 6 and 14 months, respectively.
In earlier filings, Branca noted that he took the estate from being hundreds of millions of dollars in debt to being worth billions. In documents TMZ obtained earlier this month, he submitted a yearly accounting showing Paris received about $6.3 million in benefits over the year. And last month, TMZ reported that Branca pushed back on Paris’ earlier request for $1,165,481.90 in legal bills.
