LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson's father does not stand to inherit any of his son's assets and cannot challenge the appointment of the executors chosen by the singer to handle his will, a judge said Tuesday.
Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff said Joe Jackson was not named in the will but could pursue a motion to receive a family allowance from the estate because he claimed his son had been supporting him.
Joe Jackson and his son had an often-strained relationship, and Michael Jackson said at one point that he would get physically sick — as a child and as an adult — at the sight of his father.
Beckloff ended a contentious all-day hearing by telling Joe Jackson's lawyer, Brian Oxman, that his client had no standing to prolong the legal fray over Jackson's estate and would gain nothing from doing so.
"I don't think he gets to step into this and create further litigation," the judge declared. "Joe Jackson takes none of this estate. This is a decision his son made."
In another development, the court released an accounting that the estate had paid nearly $1 million in expenses for the private family funeral held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
Some of the expenses were $11,716 for invitations and programs; $35,000 for burial garments; $30,000 for cars and security; and $15,000 to a designer.
"I would have done it less expensively. But it was Michael Jackson, who was larger than life," Howard Weitzman, an attorney for the estate administrators, said outside court. "There's no reason he should not have a funeral that's larger than life."
Earlier in Tuesday's hearing, Michael Jackson's mother withdrew her objections to the appointment of two longtime Jackson associates as executors of his will.
The surprise announcement came from Katherine Jackson's new probate attorney Adam Streisand, who said his client felt it was time for the legal battle to end over the appointment of attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain.
Katherine Jackson now believes their appointment, as spelled out in her son's will, can "enhance the legacy of Michael Jackson in the best interest of his children," Streisand said.
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