Michael Jackson‘s estate has cut off funding to the late King of Pop’s three children, and the payments cannot resume until the tax issues the estate is facing are resolved.
PEOPLE is reporting that the IRS filed a claim with the estate on Tuesday (May 28), demanding that no further money can be added to the trust funds of the beneficiaries’ estates until their matters with the federal agency are resolved.
In addition to his three children, Jackson’s mother Katherine is also a beneficiary of his estate.
“In annual reports provided to the probate court, which are publicly available, anyone can see that the Estate provides Michael’s mother and children with very substantial amounts of money to support them,” read a statement from the estate to the outlet.
It concluded: “The Estate has a very cooperative relationship with Michael’s children and whenever they need anything, the Estate works with them to ensure that they are very well taken care of, just as Michael would have wanted.”
The IRS is contending that the estate of Michael Jackson owes more than $700 million in back taxes.
Back in March, Katherine Jackson challenged John Branca and John McClain (co-executors of the late King of Pop’s estate) from moving forward with an unnamed transaction.
The dispute, according to legal accounts, is costing her a substantial amount in legal fees, which Jackson’s son Blanket argued shouldn’t be the financial responsibility of MJ’s estate.
“It is readily apparent that a reversal on appeal would be an extreme longshot,” the documents filed on behalf of the 22-year-old reads. “Given those odds, Bigi decided not to waste his resources to participate in an appeal. Nonetheless, Katherine has decided to appeal this court’s ruling. That decision is not for the benefit of the heirs.”
The Jackson kids — Prince, Blanket and Paris — initially stood with their grandmother against Branca and McClain’s transaction. However, once the probate court greenlit the two, all three children accepted the decision.
“While the disputed deal itself is not explicitly named in legal documents, it appears to be the Jackson estate’s estimated $600 million deal to sell part of the singer’s catalog to Sony,” the outlet reports.
Without having released any new music since the legendary singer’s untimely death, the Michael Jackson estate is worth billions of dollars.