Public Viewing, Private Memorial Set at Neverland

The public will be able to say a last goodbye to Michael Jackson via a public viewing service to be held Thursday at his former home, Neverland Ranch, according to reports.

A private family memorial service for the family will follow on Sunday.

Jackson's body will be driven 130 miles from Los Angeles to the sprawling, 2,500-acre estate north of Santa Barbara late Thursday morning in a motorcade said to be at least 30 cars deep, according to CNN and TMZ.com, citing police officials.

E! News quoted a Santa Barbara Sheriff's department spokesman who said meetings were taking place with the California Highway Patrol to discuss security for the trip from the Jackson family home in Los Angeles to Neverland.

Jackson's birthplace of Gary, Indiana, also is planning a memorial service for the deceased singer on July 10, according to a spokeswoman for the city's mayor's office.

Lalosa Burns, spokeswoman for Gary Mayor Rudy Clay, tells Reuters that the memorial service would take place at US Steel Works sports stadium, and that more details would follow.

---

Jackson's Will Puts Assets in Trust

Michael Jackson's will gives guardianship over his children to the singer's mother and leaves all his assets in a trust fund, a person with knowledge of the document told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The word came just a day after the family said in court documents it believed the entertainer had died without a valid will and moved to take control over his estate.

The will was signed on July 7, 2002, and named as executors Jackson's longtime lawyer John Branca and John McClain, a music executive and a family friend, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the topic. The Jackson family and its lawyers are reviewing the document, the person said.

According to a statement given to CNN's "Larry King Live" on behalf of Branca and McClain, the two men are carrying out Jackson's wishes and "it is their sincere desire that Michael's affairs be handled with dignity and respect."

That designation complicates a petition by Jackson's mother Katherine to become the administrator of his lucrative, but debt-encumbered estate.

In documents filed in Superior Court on Monday, Jackson's parents say they believe their 50-year-old son died "intestate," or without a valid will.

Judge Mitchell Beckloff granted 79-year-old Katherine Jackson temporary guardianship of his three children, who range in age from 7 to 12.

He also gave her control over some of her son's personal property that is now in the hands of an unnamed third party. But the judge did not immediately rule on her requests to take charge of the children's and Jackson's estates.

Experts said the personal bankruptcy of Jackson's parents in 1999 could work against Katherine taking control of the estate.

Court documents show Katherine and Joe Jackson filed for Chapter 7 and listed nearly $24 million in debts that included court judgments, auto loans and credit cards. The only valuable asset listed was a house in Las Vegas then valued at $290,000. The bankruptcy was terminated in March 2007, but the documents gave no further details.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Reports: Jackson Not Father of His Children

There are a myriad of Internet reports – spearheaded by TMZ.com – that claim Michael Jackson was not the biological father of his three children, Prince Michael Jr., 12, Paris, 11 and Prince Michael II (Blanket), 7.

Sources tell TMZ that Jackson did not provide sperm donations for any of his children and that Debbie Rowe was merely a surrogate for Prince Michael Jr. and Paris.

According to Us magazine, Jackson’s dermatologist and Rowe’s former boss .....

Please Login or Register to post comments on this article

Close Comment  |   Read More Comments Hide More Comments

Comments * :

Please do not enter the HTML tags(Maximum 600 characters).