NEW YORK, July 13, 2009
Report: Joe to Be Excluded from MJ Kids
Brit Newspaper Says Debbie Rowe Won't Claim Custody if Joe Jackson Left Out of Raising Pop Icon's Children
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The Daily Mail says lawyers for Rowe and Katherine Jackson met Friday for talks on how to prevent Joe from raising 12-year-old Prince Michael, 11-year-old Paris and 7-year-old Prince Michael "Blanket" II.
The deal, the paper says, would permit Katherine to raise Michael’s children, as requested in the pop star’s will, but Rowe would have regular access to the children, and would drop her custody claim.
A custody hearing, scheduled for Monday, was postponed a week, to July 20.
The Daily Mail says the later date will give Rowe and Katherine time to settle details of the agreement.
Complete coverage of Jackson's life and death
The Daily Mail also cited a Sunday Mirror source who said Rowe didn’t want the kids to go through what Michael did growing up.
The Sunday Mirror source added that Joe can’t be kept out of their lives completely, because he still attends family functions, but they’re working to prevent him from having a formal role in the Jackson the youngsters' lives.
Joe Jackson, who has been estranged from wife Katherine for five years, has reportedly been commenting on the children’s ability to sing and dance, and wants them to perform together as the "Jackson 3," according to the British newspaper The Sun.
On "The Early Show" Monday, Jack Ford, anchor of the In Session Channel's "Courtside," told "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith if he were the judge in the custody case, he'd be hesitant should the reports prove false and Joe is in fact, "part of the deal."
Ford said he'd be looking at what’s in the best interests of the children, and with Joe’s track record with Michael, Ford said he'd have some concerns.
"(If) I'm the judge, I might say, 'You know what, Katherine is the one he asked for. Joe has some problems. You have to tell me, is Joe part of this picture? Because if he is, I might look at it very differently if I'm the judge." '
Michael Jackson made allegations that Joe abused him as a child.
Ford added putting off the court date is a "smart move."
He said, "You don’t want a pitched battle about custody, if you can possibly help (it)."
Ford added the attorneys for both sides should try to work something out beforehand, so the judge doesn’t have complete control over the case.
"If you go into a courtroom, and obviously as attorneys, last thing you want to do is turn your case over to a judge because you lose complete control. You always try to resolve something first before you say, 'Okay, we can’t do it, you figure it out." '
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See all 33 CommentsI hear they think Michael was murdered. I can't think of any one other than them who would have a good motive. It is all about the money.
Katherine Jackson knows that Rowe does have a good claim and by aligning herself with Rowe she trumps Joe and pretty much anyone else who tries to get custody.
With Katherine controlling the money and Rowe having biological claim on 2 of the kids they have just made a corporae merger that will end up controlling Michael Jackson Enterprises.
Do not be so naive to think that the two of them decided this over coffee. Their lawyers brokered this deal and it is pretty much checkmate as far as the estate goes.
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Somebody should point out to Al Sharpton that Jackson did not choose to make his comeback at the Apollo in Harlem, but Wembley Stadium in London. That is about as much a white people's venue as you can get.
That is not the Jackson Family, that is the Jackson Corporation and those kids are assets of the corpoation. They are not going to let assets just sit there which have such a potential to make income.
by erasmus111 July 13, 2009 10:23 AM PDT
Your statement demonstrates that you are the one with the racist mindset.
This is the first, the one, and the only thing that has made at least a modicum of sense since Jackson's death.
If Rowe is proved to be the biological mother of the first two she will have parental say in what happens and in aligning with her Ktherine Jackson would then be able to take most of the assets away from the people running Michael Jackson Inc.
Legally, it is a very good move at a corporate takeove.
MJ did not father the kids.
As far as I know, his status as father was never legally established.
It seems everyone assumed him to be the father.
This is very unusual, and suspicious.
If Jackson did not legally adopt the children then the courts will side with the biological parent over the non-legal custodian.
by realnews12 July 13, 2009 5:08 PM EDT
Wrong. First, children are not automatically community property in a marriage and the biological parent has main custodial rights. In the case of atrificial insemination, unless the donor waves all parental rights in perpetuity and the non-biological parent legally assumes custody they do not have legal legal standing.
In the case of the third child, where the birth mother was a surrogate where both the sperm and the egg came from supposedly unknown donors that kid is in legal limbo. More so because when Jackson registered the childs birth certificate, under Mother he put NONE. (I would like to see what would happen if anyone else would try to file that and get the clerk accept it)
Wait a few months and you are going to see that who gets the kids may turn out to be the most legally messed up part of the whole estate.
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