Paris Jackson Scores Major Legal Win as Attorneys Forced to ‘Return’ $625K in Bonus Payments to Michael Jackson Estate
In recent court documents, a Los Angeles judge ruled that $625,000 in bonus payments that were paid by executors John Branca and John McClain to third-party law firms are to be returned to the estate. Paris is entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs.
“Ms. Jackson’s objection to the $625,000 of bonus payments made in the second six months of 2018 is sustained. The bonus payments are not approved; they are disallowed. The payments shall be returned to the estate,” the motion reads.
The attorneys for Jackson’s estate said that while they “disagree with the decision, we fully respect it and plan to move forward accordingly.”
“We are gratified that the Court itself recognized and praised the work of the executors and its outside counsel in today’s decision,” adding that the executors “created real and substantial generational wealth for the estate’s beneficiaries,”
A spokesperson for Paris stated on May 13 that she “has always been focused on what’s best for her family and this ruling is a massive win for them.”
“After years of delay, the Jackson family will finally get the transparency and accountability measures Paris has fought for,” the statement continued. “The Jackson estate is supposed to be a prudent, fiscally responsible entity that supports the Jackson family – not a slush fund to help John Branca live out his Hollywood mogul fantasies. After months of engaging in sexist, scorched-earth tactics against a beneficiary, it’s time for John Branca to acknowledge his many missteps and act in the best interest of the family he has a fiduciary duty to protect.”
Jackson’s estate attorneys declined to comment further.
Along with her brothers Prince and Bigi, Paris is the beneficiary of the estate. She has accused Branca and McClain of abusing their roles as estate executors for their own financial gains, which they have denied.
Filed last month, Paris accused Branca and McClain of using their latest status report to “mock and belittle” her. The April 6 filing was a response to an 83-page status report filed earlier in the month by the executors, which discussed a March 24 court hearing in which Paris’ legal team allegedly backed out at the last minute from an agreement reached by all parties.
Steinsapir claimed in a statement responding to the filing that Paris and her attorneys “are once again abusing the courts and the legal system by making a series of false allegations as part of a media campaign to distract from their legal setbacks and the inherent weakness of their case.”
Steinsapir noted that Paris has received $65 million in benefits and will “inherit many hundreds of millions more.”
In the filing, Paris said she “hoped to work cooperatively to install a clear and simple order allowing payment on account where justified,” but faced hurdles from the executors’ team.
At the time of Michael Jackson’s death in 2009, he was over $500 million in debt, and the executors claim they took the struggling estate and morphed it into a “powerhouse and a force in the music business.”
In court filings, Paris has alleged that in 2021 alone, the executors pocketed more than $10 million in compensation from the Jackson’s estate, which allegedly is “more than double the amount distributed to any beneficiary from the family allowance.”
For more information see Ilana Kaplan and Danielle Bacher “Paris Jackson Scores Major Legal Win as Attorneys Forced to ‘Return’ $625K in Bonus Payments to Michael Jackson Estate” People, May 13, 2026.