Paris Jackson’s team is feeling optimistic after appearing in court for the legal battle with the executors of her father Michael Jackson’s estate.
“Paris spent yesterday in court as her legal team raised fact after fact that proved the executors were failing to meet their fundamental obligation to be transparent and accountable,” a source close to Paris exclusively tells Us Weekly. “We think these unacceptable six-figure bonus payments are just the tip of the iceberg.”
The insider adds while no decision has been made in the case, Paris’ legal team is confident in their argument.
“It was contentious at times — these cases always are — but the facts are on our side,” the source says. “There’s no way to be sure until the judge issues a ruling, but we feel good about how today went.”
Paris, 27, arrived in court in Los Angeles for the on Thursday, March 12, hearing in her ongoing legal battle. She accused a small group of lawyers of allegedly exploiting Michael’s estate in 2025, claiming the attorneys were skimming money in “plain view.” A rep for the trust vehemently denied the accusations at the time.
Michael, a.k.a. the King of Pop, died in 2009 at the age of 50. In addition to Paris, Michael is survived by sons Prince, 29, and Bigi, 24. (Michael shared Paris and Prince with Debbie Rowe, later welcoming Bigi via surrogate.)
“In March 2018, Paris and her siblings raised concerns about excessive attorney fee payments, including a specific demand that ‘[n]o bonus attorneys fees are paid to attorneys that are billing at an average rate,’” Paris’ legal team claimed in a pre-hearing brief obtained by Us on Thursday. “Following that letter, the parties negotiated an ‘across-the-board $1 million write-off of legal fees’ and set a schedule for executors to file the fee petition for 2018 by June 2019.”
According to the court documents, the executors of Michael’s estate initially appeared to be “heeding the siblings’ concern” and agreed to a fee reduction for the lawyers. Paris and her brothers later claimed that the executors paid an additional $625,000 in “non-contractual gifts” to three law firms with “no holdback.”
The estates’ executors later submitted a $115,000 bill to Paris’ team in January, which she’s since been trying to shoot down in court.
“The executors and their lawyers must be either reckless or careless,” a source familiar with Paris’ thinking told Us earlier this month. “This was yet another attempt to pay themselves extra money out of the very estate they’re supposed to manage. Paris is speaking up because she cares about her family and their future.”
Paris’ lawyers now argue that the executors’ payments violate the Probate Code and wanted a judge to impose more transparency with the estate’s finances.
“The record already demonstrates that executors have failed to competently administer the filing of timely and accurate fee applications and have resorted to false statements in an effort to defend self-interested gifts to counsel,” Paris’ lawyers alleged in their motion. “Executors’ hubris permits the Eleventh Fee Petition and demonstrates their disdain for the beneficiaries, the Probate Code’s requirements and this court’s orders.”
Paris further requested for the judge to reject any approval of the executors’ bonuses to the law firms until an “in-camera review” is completed and the beneficiaries of Michael’s trust can “conduct discovery on any renewed petition.”
