Michael Jackson’s mother shuffles legal team handling her interests in son’s estate
By Anthony Mccartney, APThursday, October 22, 2009
Jackson’s mom changes lawyers in estate case
LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson’s mother is replacing the attorneys handling her interests in her son’s multimillion-dollar estate case.
Katherine Jackson’s personnel attorney, L. Londell McMillan, declined to say who would take over the case.
The change was expected to be discussed at a court hearing Thursday.
That hearing was called after attorneys for estate administrators and Katherine Jackson sought clarification of a ruling made by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff.
Beckloff granted co-administrators John Branca and John McClain authority to start handling numerous creditors’ claims and lawsuits filed against Jackson’s estate. Attorneys for both sides disagreed about how Beckloff’s ruling should be worded.
Katherine Jackson is one of the primary beneficiaries of her son’s estate and the legal guardian of his children. Her former attorneys had been considering mounting a challenge to the authority of the men administering the estate.
Burt Levitch, the attorney who argued Katherine Jackson’s positions at most of the hearings held in the case, declined comment.
McMillan praised Levitch’s work, but said the Jackson family was discussing a new approach to resolve lingering issues about the estate. He declined to elaborate.
