Michael Jackson’s Will

The last will and testament of pop music superstar and cultural icon
Michael Jackson seemed to indicate a fair degree of planning. Yet the
specifics remain murky and many questions remain. Gene L. Osofsky, who
specializes in Elder Law and Estate Planning, offers a few insightful
comments about what the famous entertainer left behind.

Attorney Gene L. Osofsky, of the law firm Osofsky & Osofsky, was
as much taken aback as the rest of us by the sudden and premature death
of pop music superstar and cultural icon Michael Jackson at the age of
50. Unlike many middle-aged “baby-boomers,” Jackson did have a will
drawn up, and it was even made public. The document aroused Osofsky’s
curiosity. Like millions of Americans, the attorney specializing in
Elder Law was somewhat familiar with the publicized particulars of
Jackson’s turbulent life, and the release of a will was not entirely
unexpected by Osofsky. “There was considerable media speculation about
Michael Jackson and his will, and it seemed logical that he’d created
one.” The will was five pages long, and shifted Jackson’s entire estate
into an instrument called the Michael Jackson Family Trust. Still, it
revealed little about Jackson Estate specifics or instructions about
how his estate would be handled.

Jackson’s will wasn’t exempt from the law. Although a will can
remain private while a person is alive, it becomes a matter of public
record once it is submitted to the probate courts after a person dies.
But a trust is usually a private document, and in most cases remains
private. In Jackson’s case, the financial details are presumably all in
the trust. There was a detail on page 4 of the five-page document that
did catch the attorney’s eye. In paragraph 8 of his will, on page 4,
just above his signature, Jackson states, “If any of my children are
minors at the time of my death, I nominate my mother KATHERINE JACKSON,
as guardian of the persons and estates of such minor children. If
KATHERINE JACKSON fails to survive me, or is unable or unwilling to act
as guardian, I nominate DIANA ROSS as guardian of the persons and
estates of such minor children.”

Asserts Osofsky, “Whatever odd or inexplicable things Jackson may
have done during his life, he seems to have taken steps to provide for
his children’s care, financial needs and privacy after his death.
That’s more than I can say for a lot of people.”

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