Now that Michael Jackson has passed away, a potentially very heated battle over who will get custody of his minor children is on the horizon. Will it be Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson? Will it be the biological mother of his two children, Debbie Rowe? Will it be the children’s nanny Grace Rwaramba, or Aunt Janet Jackson?
The child custody situation is complex and there are several different issues that will most likely need to be addressed. First, it has been reported that Michael’s last will and testament bequeathed legal and physical custody of his children to his mother Katherine. This brings up a very interesting legal question: Does a bequeath of custody of one’s minor children in a will to another individual (i.e. Katherine) supersede the custodial rights of a biological parent (i.e. Debbie Rowe)? It will definitely be interesting to see how the court rules on this.
Another issue has to do with the custodial rights of the nanny, who reportedly cared for the children for ten years. Does she have any more custodial rights to the children than Katherine Jackson or Debbie Rowe? The answer to this is probably not, since she was paid for her services and was not a girlfriend, co-habitant, domestic partner, etc., of Michael. Finally, one last issue has to do with whether the court would split up the children. It has been reported that Ms. Rowe is the biological mother of the oldest two children. Therefore, if the court were to grant her custody of the two oldest children just because she is their biological mother, would the Court then grant custody of the youngest child to someone else?
These custody issues that have arisen as a result of the sudden and unexpected death of Michael Jackson are very fascinating to say the least. Wallin and Klarich will continue to monitor these issues very closely as they may impact other custody battles down the line. If you or a loved one has questions regarding child custody matters, call a skilled California child custody attorney at Wallin and Klarich today. Wallin and Klarich has been in the business of helping people with child custody matters and many other family law issues many years and we would like to help you with yours! Call Wallin & Klarich today at 1-888-749-7428 to learn more about your case and what can be done.
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