Jackson leaves it all to family – and ex-wife gets nothing

MICHAEL Jackson has left his fortune to his three children and his mother but cut his former wife out of his will, it emerged last night.

A family trust will provide for the children – aged between seven and 12 – and Jackson's 79-year-old mother Katherine.

His former wife Debbie Rowe was said to be the mother of the two oldest children, although this has been the subject of speculation. The youngest child was born to a surrogate mother, who has never been identified.

The will also names his mother as the guardian of the children and singer Diana Ross as a successor trustee to Jackson's mother if necessary.

Before details of the will were known, judge Mitchell Beckloff granted Jackson's mother temporary guardianship of his three children. He also ruled Mrs Jackson would retain limited control of 2,000 items from Neverland until another hearing next Monday.

Mr Beckloff called for a speedy compromise between lawyers for Mrs Jackson and the two co-executors of Michael Jackson's will, lawyer John Branca and John McClain, a music executive and family friend. "I would like the family to sit down and try to make this work so that we don't have a difficult time in court," the judge said

But experts said the personal bankruptcy of Jackson's parents in 1999 could affect the chances of Jackson's mother taking control of the star's estate if it was to be contested.

Beth Kaufman, a Washington DC lawyer specialising in estate tax issues, said: "I think it would be a negative factor but not necessarily a disqualifier. It could indicate that she is not capable of sound financial management."

When the will was written, in July 2002, Jackson's estate was estimated at more than £300 million, but he is thought to have died hundreds of millions of pounds in debt.

However, his death has prompted a spike in his US album sales, which were up to 422,000 in the week to Sunday, compared with 10,000 a week earlier. A total of 2.3 million tracks have been downloaded in the United States alone since his death.

The week's tally was greater than all the Jackson albums sold from the start of the year until 21 June, Nielsen SoundScan said. The top three albums were Number Ones, Essential Michael Jackson, and Thriller.

Earlier, a nutritionist said the singer had pleaded for a powerful sedative to cure his insomnia ahead of his comeback concerts in London.

Cherilyn Lee, 56, a nurse and nutrition specialist in California, said he had asked to be prescribed the drug Diprivan – despite warnings that it could have harmful side-effects.

Jackson had been booked to play 50 gigs at the capital's O2 arena starting later this month.

The promoter Randy Phillips, president of AEG Live, said he hoped there could be tribute concerts to Jackson.

He also denied Jackson had been suffering from stage fright and said AEG Live would at "some point" be releasing footage of the rehearsals. He said the show was going to be "beyond anything".

Mr Phillips went on: "The world needs to see this production.

"It would have been, which is the tragedy here, one of the most amazing shows ever, so at some point we want the world to see that."

All eyes on Neverland as speculation rages over funeral

THEY descended in their hundreds, crowding around the famous ranch Michael Jackson bought at the height of his popularity.

Dozens of news crews set up camp around Neverland yesterday and hotel rooms across Santa Barbara were snapped up instantly amid reports the star's funeral would be held there tomorrow.

But last night the pop icon's family insisted the reports were untrue and that there were no such plans for a funeral there this weekend.

Despite a flurry of activity at Neverland yesterday, it is now thought more likely that a funeral and burial will take place in Los Angeles.

More than 30 television news trucks had earlier parked outside the gates of the ranch, as authorities in the county braced themselves for an invasion of thousands of fans.

One major hurdle to a funeral at Neverland is a local by-law that rules uncremated remains cannot be interred outside a cemetery.

A statement released by the public relations firm employed by the Jackson family read: "The Jackson family is officially stating that there will be no public or private viewing at Neverland. Plans are under way regarding a public memorial for Michael Jackson, and we will announce those plans shortly."

Jackson's long-time friend, Jesse Jackson, the civil rights campaigner, last night urged mourners to "celebrate Michael's life" amid reports that some obsessed fans were committing suicide.