Paris Jackson wants a Los Angeles judge to cut the pay of Michael Jackson estate executor John Branca. TMZ reported the filing Wednesday, and an estate representative answered that the motion has no merit.
Paris Jackson Targets Executor Pay in New Motion
Court documents obtained by TMZ and Complex show Paris Jackson filed the motion in Los Angeles County Superior Court. She asks the judge to lower Branca’s compensation from 15 percent to 10 percent of the estate’s gross entertainment-related income. The cut would cover 2023, 2024 and every later year until Branca files what the motion calls a complete and accurate 2026 accounting.
She also wants the court to award her attorneys’ fees and costs. According to TMZ, the filing says Branca has turned in late or incomplete financial statements while he asks the court to approve large payments. TMZ says the papers accuse him of “persistent incompetence” in handling those filings. Complex reports that the motion calls his alleged failure to perform basic duties intolerable. TMZ also points to a figure inside the papers: $109,219,648.27 in compensation that Branca sought approval for on behalf of the co-executors and a law firm. Complex puts the estate’s value at roughly $2 billion. Paris and her brothers Prince and Bigi hold their interest through the Michael Jackson Family Trust, according to Complex.
Estate Fires Back and Disputes the Numbers
An estate representative, not Branca himself, answered TMZ with a flat rejection. The representative called the motion “completely without merit.” The representative said the executors have waived executor compensation since the estate began. They collect a separate management fee for running the Jackson business, and a court ordered that fee. The representative also attacked the penalty request. The accountings for 2023 and 2024 already sit on file, the representative said, and the 2025 and 2026 reports have not come due. Complex adds that those two reports fall due in six months and 14 months. It also quotes the representative calling the requested penalties nonsensical.
The coverage leaves one gap. The estate says the executors never took executor pay. The motion, as reported, goes after a percentage of gross entertainment income. Neither TMZ nor Complex explains how the 15 percent rate relates to the management fee the estate describes. The motion itself would settle that, and neither outlet has posted it. Just Jared’s version relies on TMZ’s reporting for the amounts and quotes. Treat the figures as claims from one side until the court record says more.
Months of Court Fights Set the Stage
This motion follows a year of clashes. Paris objected in June 2025 when the executors asked the court to approve attorney pay and costs for 2018. She sued the estate in November 2025, accusing Branca and co-executor John McClain of abusing their roles through irregular premium payments and unexplained bonuses, according to ABC News. In May, Judge Mitchell Beckloff sided with her on part of that fight. ABC News reported on May 15 that he ordered $625,000 in bonuses returned to the estate. The payments went to outside law firms in the second half of 2018.
Beckloff wrote that he could not find the bonuses just and reasonable based on the information provided. A Paris Jackson spokesperson called the ruling a “massive win.” Lawyers for Branca and McClain said they disagreed but would comply, and they said none of the money went to the executors. Paris then asked for $463,752 in accrued interest tied to that ruling, per TMZ’s May report and Complex. Complex’s timeline also says McClain died on May 26 of this year.
An earlier filing set out her broader theory. People magazine, as relayed by BANG Showbiz on March 8, reported that Paris alleged the executors took more than $10 million in 2021 and about $148.2 million from 2009 through 2021. The same filing alleged the estate held more than $464 million in cash earning under 0.1 percent. The executors have said they turned an estate carrying more than $500 million in debt into a powerhouse in the music business.
What to Watch in the Michael Jackson Estate Case
None of the reports name a hearing date, and no judge has ruled on the pay motion. Watch for a formal written opposition from Branca, which should show whether the estate’s management-fee argument holds up against the motion’s 15 percent figure. The accountings matter as well. TMZ’s earlier coverage, cited in its latest story, says an estate accounting reported on October 6 showed Paris received about $6.3 million in benefits over the year. TMZ also reports that in September Branca opposed her request for $1,165,481.90 in legal fees. Those fights could shape how the judge views the new request. The reports reviewed include no further comment from the estate beyond the representative’s statement.
