Jackson’s mum gets custody of children

MICHAEL JACKSON’S mother will get custody of the late pop star’s three children after reaching a agreement with her son’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe, a lawyer for Katherine Jackson told CBS News yesterday.

Rowe will have “meaningful visitation rights” with her two biological children with Jackson – Prince Michael, 12, and Paris, 11 – US television networks CBS, ABC and NBC reported.

The biological mother of Jackson’s third child, Prince Michael II, 7, also known as Blanket, has never been revealed. Jackson’s mother, Katherine, 79, was granted temporary custody of the children after his death on June 25.

“It is an agreement, an agreement for the best interests of the children. This is not a money deal. This is not about money,” Londell McMillan, Katherine Jackson’s attorney, said in a an interview on CBS News’ The Early Show.

“All of the parties are resolved. There is no situation better for these children than for them to be raised and reared in the loving care of Mrs Katherine Jackson,” he said.

A court hearing in Los Angeles on custody of the children is scheduled for Monday.

Jackson left his estate, valued at $500 million (€355m) in an attachment to his will, to a family trust that benefits his children, his mother and charities.

“That estate is worth, in my estimation, a couple of billion dollars,” McMillan said.