Ownership of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch remains deadlocked in legal battles

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
8/1/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Fate of eccentric singer's retreat battled over by Jackson family, other interests

When the eccentric and deeply troubled superstar Michael Jackson died at the age of 50 in 2009, he was over $500 million in debt. With many of the late singer's assets in probate, the fate of his fabled Neverland Ranch - once the site of private zoos, amusement park rides and a basketball court - launched legal battles that continue to this day.

Hundreds of fans crowded Neverland's still-locked entrance last month, on the third anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. Many of those who had gathered there agreed it would be wonderful to transform the ranch into a testament to Jackson's life.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Most of Jackson's surviving relatives say that the 2,500-acre property must stay in the family in order for his three children to inherit their birth home, the attorney for Jackson family matriarch Katherine Jackson says.

Eighty-two-year-old Katherine's role has remained Jackson's three children, Prince, 15, Paris, 14, and Blanket, 10. There are accusations by five of Katherine's other seven living children that the co-executors of Michael's debt-ridden estate, attorneys John Branca and John McClain, falsified the will.

Katherine remains the central figure because the will ultimately gives her 40 percent of the estate, of which McClain and Branca are executors until all debt and litigation are settled. Michael's children will also receive 40 percent, and the final 20 percent intended for charity.

Michael Jackson's formerly troubled estate has since generated $475 million in revenue in three short years, bringing all debt current and making a decision on the land possible within the next year.

"It is the wish of the beneficiaries that Neverland be kept in the family and Michael's children get to one day decide what to do with their old family home," Perry Sanders, Katherine Jackson's attorney, told The Daily.

"Unfortunately, the way things are set up in the trust code and state code, the trustees get to make decisions about the assets of the estate. So consequently, we're not aware of anything happening with it."

There had been discussion that the Neverland Ranch would become a tourist destination in the manner of Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion in Memphis, or into a world-class music school. Animal rights advocates, such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals want the land to be converted into a sanctuary for rescued exotic animals.

Singer Jermaine Jackson, Michael's older brother by four years had lobbied hard for the land to be developed into an amusement park, museum and concert venue celebrating his brother's legacy.

The chief executive officer of Colony Capital, the California investment firm that saved Neverland from foreclosure by buying Michael's $23 million mortgage in 2008, predicted he could sell the ranch for an astronomical $100 million. Santa Barbara County, where Neverland is located, has assessed the ranch's value at $29.2 million for tax purposes.

Hundreds of fans crowded Neverland's still-locked entrance last month, on the third anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. Many of those who had gathered there agreed it would be wonderful to transform the ranch into a testament to Jackson's life.

� 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Keywords: Michael Jackson, Neverland Ranch, court battles, family, children

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1 - 6 of 6 Comments

carlos
1 month ago
All things on this earth are only for awhile.
nighteyes
2 months ago
i feel who ever buys the never land ranch should be the same way Michael Jackson had in the
begining with the petting zoo and the rides and they should do it in memory of michael jackson and something his family can enjoy espically his children and for everyone to enjoy for entertament. espically all his fans as well.
Mike
9 months ago
I don't know much about catholisism, but doesn't it teach the same basic value of honesty?
This article is wrong on so many points. This person has made no effort to do some real research on the subject. This is just a cut and paste from countless other articles, all based around repeating the same few facts that have long been debunked.
Michael Jackson was broke with $500million debt. No, he had not sold any of his 50% of Sony/ATV (worth nearly $1billion). His assets were much larger than his debt.
Michael Jackson sold Neverland. No, Colony Capital do not own Neverland, Michael Jackson's estate own most of it.

This article adds a new angle to false reporting. 'Legal battles' over Neverland. No, there are no legal battles over Neverland that have been filed. Further, the article doesn't actually state anything about these battles anyway. Has the person who wrote this fabricated this aspect? I haven't seen it written anywhere else (hence my comment on honesty).
chris
9 months ago
When Michael Jackson died his 50% share of Sony/ATV was valued at around $1billion. Even if you're correct about the level of debt he had (court documents show you're not) then his net worth, combined with his other assets was in the multiple hundreds of millions of dollars.

Court documents recently released state that the Estate HAVE NOT cleared the debt so you're wrong on another point. They are expecting to clear it in the next year or so.

Colony Capital only own a small proportion of Neverland, the Estate own the majority of it. Again, this has been proven in court documents. Contrary to widespread media reports Michael Jackson never sold all of it. Capital Colony can't sell it without the Estate's say so.

Your report doesn't actually describe any legal battles concerning the fate of Neverland, only ongoing discussions. There are no legal battles over Neverland, so it seems a strange title.
Bob
9 months ago
When Michael Jackson died it is known that he had debt in the region of $400million (NOT over $500million). This was proven by his Estate's financial records. However, it is also known that his 50% share in Sony/ATV was officially valued at around $1billion when he died. In addition to that he owned his own music catalogue and had multiple assets, including Neverland ranch, a Condo, shares in various organisations etc. His salary from Sony/ATV was earning him a $40million salary every year just for being the 50% share holder. He had other income on top of that (e.g. from his own music catalogues, bonuses etc). Without even going out of the house. Why does the media love to portray Michael Jackson as broke? they've been doing it since the early 90s. Did he go bankrupt like you all reported he would in the early 90s? No. He was in debt but in no way in any financial trouble as his assets easily outweighed his debt (he could sell assets at any time to clear the debt). The only issue he had, according to his management at the time was cashflow, although that was eased by the multi million dollar advance he gained from AEG for the 'This Is It' concerts.

The financial report recently released by the Michael Jackson Estate shows that they still own about 75% of Neverland ranch. Your article wrongly suggests that Colony bought the whole mortgage for Neverland and your readers could reasonably assume from that that Michael Jackson no longer owned Neverland. This was widely reported before he died but it was not true, as shown in multiple financial records released when he died and since. Similarly you suggest that Colony Capital can sell it whenever they like. As they hold only a minority stake they can't do anything without the Estate's agreement.

It's interesting to note that the same news outlets that wrongly reported Michael Jackson was broke to the tune of $500million, and subsequently reported that the MJ EState had earned $475million since his death, have recently been reporting about the Jackson family's fight for his $1billion fortune. Clearly the numbers don't stack up. It's impossible for an Estate that had 'over £500million' debt to "bring all debt current" as you put it in your report when they have 'only' earned $475million. Surely that leaves at least $25million debt remaining! In fact the Estate's recently released report has asked for probate to continue for an extra year to pay off remaining debt. Despite earning more than the value of the debt they have had running costs like any business and have NOT paid all debt off yet. Costs include interest on the debt, 50% production costs for the Cirque du Soleil show, and millions of dollars in legal costs! Consequently it is not expected to pay all debt off until next year.

The truth is Michael Jackson's NET worth when he died was above $500million (in the black). While the MJ Estate have done a great job paying off debts, it's a little unfair to drecit th

I would also like to point out that the whole point of the article is flawed. There are NO legal battles pending for the fate of Neverland Ranch! In fact your article doesn't even mention any specific legal issues. It only mentions the ongoing consideration of what will happen to the ranch in the long term, which is already public knowledge and is not being considered through any legal conflict. The MJ estate and Colony Capital jointly own Neverland and they are not locked in a legal battle over it. The family want to remove the executors from the Estate but that has nothing to do with Neverland.
Jay
9 months ago
Fans the world over would surely love to visit Neverland.

I hope the Estate decides to rescue it and open it to the public!

If the traffic to the ranch is an issue, why not have pick up points where buses can bring the visitors to the ranch? Also, putting a limit on number of visitors per day will help solve congestion. And also why not put a limit to the number of times it is open to the public per month?

Opening Neverland to the public is a great way of having a "common" place for the fans to celebrate MJ's legacy forever.

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