Jackson estate generates over $310m

MICHAEL JACKSON’S estate has generated over $310 million (€225m) in the two years since the pop singer died deeply in debt, enabling executors to distribute a preliminary payment of $30m to Jackson’s mother and children, and to unnamed charities, according to recently filed court documents.

Executors also disclosed that Jackson’s mother, Katherine, is putting the family’s fabled Encino compound up for sale and wants the executors to negotiate the purchase of a new residence for her and his children, Paris, Prince and Michael Joseph Jr, known as Blanket.

The Encino property, where Jackson grew up and where several of his siblings lived in a cottage near their parents’ home, was appraised at $4.15m in 2010 but has since undergone extensive renovation.

Katherine Jackson have been living at a leased Calabasas home that is for sale for about $10m. The executors said she has identified a number of homes in that price range that would suit her needs and those of the children.

The executors said the trust and the California attorney general’s office, which is representing charities as beneficiaries of the estate, have been pressing for distribution of funds.

The executors, John Branca and John McClain, filed a detailed accounting of finances since Jackson’s death on in June 2009. By the end of last year, the estate had produced over $310m in gross revenue.

“Since that date, the estate assets have continued to generate additional income,” the executors said.

Notably, they said they were able to refinance and secure the estate’s interest in the Michael Jackson music catalogue, Mijac, and the Sony/ATV publishing catalogue, which includes portions of The Beatles’ discography.

They said they reduced debt obligations by over $90m and refinanced loans at lower interest rates. They also benefited from the release of the posthumous concert film, This Is It, and said they were able to pay off dozens of approved creditors’ claims as well as Jackson’s income taxes.

Some creditor claims remain open, but the deadline for filing claims against the estate has passed.

“For a number of reasons, including without limitation, pending litigation and a pending estate tax audit, the estate is not yet in a condition to be closed,” the document stated. They listed cash on hand of $90m.

They indicated that the $30m was a preliminary distribution to the trust and more would be forthcoming in the future.

A hearing for a judge’s approval of the plan is set for September 28.

Jackson’s death remains in the news as his doctor, Conrad Murray, is set to go on trial on involuntary manslaughter charges, accused of negligently administering the anaesthetic propofol.

Jackson died of an overdose of the drug he was using for sleep. At the time of his death, he was due to launch a concert series in London. Rehearsal footage for that concert was the basis of This Is It.