Paris Jackson Battles Estate Over $100M Fee Claim

Paris Jackson has escalated her legal conflict with John Branca, the executor of her late father Michael Jackson's estate. In recent court filings dated Wednesday, October 25, 2026, she asserts that Branca is seeking over $100 million in compensation for just two years of work, arguing his filings are insufficient to justify such a payment.

Jackson is requesting Branca's compensation be reduced from 15% to 10% of the estate's gross entertainment income as a penalty for alleged disclosure failures. The Jackson estate has vehemently refuted these claims, labeling them "nonsensical" and "absurd." They stated that Branca waived initial compensation and has only received a court-ordered management fee for operating the successful Michael Jackson business.

This dispute is part of an ongoing legal sparring. In November 2025, Paris Jackson alleged that Branca and co-executor John McClain aimed to "enrich and aggrandize" themselves, citing casting decisions for a Michael Jackson biopic as evidence. The executors responded by calling her objections a "profound waste of the court's time and, ironically, the estate's money," highlighting their success in growing the estate's valuation from approximately $500 million in debt to over $2 billion.

Previously, in May 2026, a judge ruled in favor of Paris Jackson, ordering that $625,000 in bonuses paid to three outside law firms be returned to the estate, deeming the amounts "arbitrary" and determined solely by Mr. Branca.