The glove is off.
Two longtime
business associates of Michael Jackson yesterday filed a will he signed in 2002 that puts them in charge of his estate -- challenging an earlier decision that left his mother at the helm of part of his massive fortune.
On Monday, Katherine Jackson filed an emergency petition to name her "special administrator" over parts of her son's estate because he had died with no valid will and the family feared that his assets could quickly be siphoned off. The judge approved the request.
But yesterday's filing calls that decision into question, and lawyers for Branca and McClain immediately filed a motion to vacate the judge's earlier decision to appoint 79-year-old Katherine administrator.
Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff yesterday asked the two sides to come to some sort of compromise, and postponed any decision until Monday.
"I would like the family to sit down and try to make this work so that we don't have a difficult time in court," he said.
Beckloff said he had granted Katherine "slim" authority to take control of items that had belonged to her son and that had been slated for auction, but did not extend full power for her to manage Jacko's financial interests.
Branca and McClain moved quickly to try to overturn Katherine's authority, saying it was granted on the mistaken assumption that Michael died without a valid will.
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