LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson’s mother was granted permanent custody of her late son’s three children in court Monday, the Associated Press reports.
The ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff follows last week’s agreement between the family matriarch and Debbie Rowe, the music icon’s ex-wife who is the mother of his two oldest children, Prince Michael I, 12, and Paris Katherine, 11. The terms of that deal included Rowe receiving visitation rights, while agreeing to not seek custody of the children.
The King of Pop also has a third child, Prince Michael II (Blanket), whose mother is a never disclosed surrogate.
“There is no situation better for these children than for them to be raised and reared in the loving care of Mrs. Katherine Jackson,” L. Londell McMillan, the attorney for the family matriarch, told “The Early Show” shortly after the deal with Rowe was reached.
Katherine Jackson, 79, was awarded temporary custody of the children shortly after her son’s death on June 25. According to AP, Prince Michael I and Paris Katherine filed court declarations stating who they wanted to be raised by — the details of which were not revealed.
One objection worth noting at Monday’s hearing came from the entertainer’s former dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, who expressed concern about the children’s education and other day-to-day parenting issues. Several tabloids have reported that Klein is the biological father of Jackson’s children, a claim that the Beverly Hills doctor did little to dispel when he told “Good Morning America” last month: “To the best of my knowledge, I am not the father of these children.”
Klein’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, argued that the dermatologist had a vested interest thanks to his long relationship with the Jackson family.
