Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris is escalating her legal war with estate executor John Branca, claiming in new court filings he wants to pay himself more than $100 million for just two years of work without a proper explanation.
The younger Jackson, who has long sparred with Branca over his longstanding role as Michael’s executor, said in a Wednesday (Oct. 28) filing in Los Angeles court that he has offered only “defective filings” to support that massive payment of fees.
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“This is not the first time Executor has avoided his disclosure obligations by means of incomplete filings,” the filing reads. “This instance, however, is particularly offensive in that Executor’s defective filings include a request for approval of more than one hundred million dollars in compensation.”
As a penalty for the alleged failures, the younger Jackson wants Branca’s compensation reduced from 15 percent to 10 percent of the estate’s gross entertainment-related income.
In a strongly worded response statement, the Jackson estate called Paris’ request “nonsensical” and “absurd.” It said Branca had in fact waived compensation from the start and has only ever been paid “a separate, court-ordered management fee for operating the hugely successful Michael Jackson business.”
“It is an understatement to say that this motion is completely without merit, nor is it argued on facts,” the estate added in the response statement.
Paris has been sparring with Branca for months. In November 2025, she said that Branca and estate co-executor John McClain‘s work, including a now-released Michael biopic, had been designed to “enrich and aggrandize” them rather than help the family. She cited the fact that movie star Miles Teller had been cast to portray Branca in the film.
Months later, the executors fired back, calling Paris’ objections “a profound waste of the court’s time and, ironically, the estate’s money.” They cited their well-documented business success, which took the estate from roughly $500 million in debt to a current valuation of more than $2 billion.
In May, Paris won a court ruling against the executors in which a judge ruled that $625,000 in bonuses paid to three outside law firms had been improper and must be “returned to the estate.” The judge said the large totals “appear arbitrary” and were merely “what Mr. Branca determined was appropriate.”
