LOS ANGELES (AP) - A judge says Michael Jackson's longtime attorney and a family friend should take over the singer's estate.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff issued his ruling after a court hearing Monday morning. Attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain had been designated in Jackson's 2002 will as the people he wanted to administer his estate.
Jackson died June 25, deeply in debt. But a court filing estimates his estate will be worth more than $500 million.
The singer's mother, Katherine Jackson, had applied to oversee her son's estate, but that was before the will surfaced. Her attorney, Burt Levitch, expressed concerns about McClain and Branca's financial leadership.
Levitch told Beckloff that Branca had previously been removed from financial positions of authority by Jackson. Branca's attorney says he was rehired by Jackson on June 17, days before Jackson's death.
Katherine Jackson did not appear at Monday's hearing. Branca did attend.
A public memorial has been scheduled for Jackson in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday.
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