Jackson’s Estate: Major Debt and A Major Asset

At this point, little is known about Michael Jackson’s estate plan or will, but this is what is known:

• Heirs include three children, well-known siblings, and his parents.
• Jackson was plagued with large debts and multiple lawsuits seeking to recover back debts
• Last year Jackson sold Neverland Ranch for $22 million to pay back debts.
• Jackson’s creditors and heirs will likely fight for their piece of his biggest asset: his 50% ownership interest in the Sony/ATV music catalog.
• The music catalog owns the publishing rights to thousands of songs and Jackson’s half is valued at up to $500 million.
• Jackson’s hit songs are also owned by his estate.

See Christopher Palmeri, Settling Jackson’s Estate May Be a Thriller, Business Week, June 25, 2009; see also TaxProf Blog.

Special thanks to Christina Tippit (JD, Texas Tech University 2009) for bringing this article to my attention.