Paris Jackson Blows The Whistle On Shady $600K Payments From Michael Jackson's Estate

Michael Jackson’s daughter, Paris Jackson, has ignited controversy by questioning a series of payments made from her father’s estate. She highlighted more than $600,000 paid out in 2018 to three law firms for what she labeled as “uncaptured time.”

The 27-year-old flagged the payments in court documents, accusing the estate’s executors of authorizing excessive bonuses without proper court approval.

With a hearing set for July 16, Paris is pressing for financial transparency, even as the estate defends its actions as industry standard.

On June 24, 2025, Paris filed a formal court petition demanding an explanation for over $625,000 in “premium payments” issued by Michael Jackson’s estate executors.

The payments, disbursed over a six-month period in 2018, were made to three law firms but were neither documented nor approved by the court.

According to the court papers obtained by PEOPLE, the attorney payouts were effectively “lavish gratuities bestowed upon already well-compensated counsel.”

Paris’s attorney argued that these bonuses were given for “uncaptured time,” meaning the work wasn’t recorded, making it impossible to assess whether the fees were justified.

She claimed that the estate failed to demonstrate why standard billing procedures weren’t followed, raising “serious and substantial questions” about whether the executors supervised legal counsel adequately.

Not long after, Michael Jackson’s estate issued a response to Paris’s filing.

Speaking to PEOPLE, Estate spokesperson Jonathan Steinsapir defended the payouts, noting that they were consistent with the longstanding estate practices.

According to him, the estate’s business judgment was the reason for its value growth. “The Executors’ approval of payments to attorneys have been made with the same business judgment that has earned this Estate over $3 billion,” he said.

“We are confident that the objected-to payments are appropriate as, indeed, they are fully consistent with payments made in the decade prior, all of which have been approved by the Probate Court,” Steinsapir added.

Meanwhile, a source close to the Jackson estate downplayed the issue, calling the disputed amounts “relatively minor bonuses” paid to three law firms for their role in the high-stakes EMI catalog sale in 2018.

“The estate, assisted by these lawyers and others, bought a 10% stake in EMI for $50,000 in 2012 due to a contractual right we had with Sony,” the insider explained. “In 2018, the stake sold for almost $300 million!”

They emphasized that “any business in this position would reward those who worked on that matter through the years.”

The source also pushed back on claims that the estate was required to withhold 30 percent of attorney fees pending court approval.

According to them, Paris’s legal team had misinterpreted the court’s instructions.

“On that, they are simply mistaken and do not understand the court’s orders,” they stated, adding that the estate has “paid bonuses like this to attorneys for years, and they’ve all been approved without any objections.”

Amid the ongoing issue, Michael Jackson’s estate filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court against the late icon’s former manager and longtime insider Frank Cascio.

In the July 9 court documents obtained by The Blast, the estate alleged that Cascio orchestrated an attempted $213 million extortion scheme against it.

Once a trusted friend and defender, Cascio allegedly flipped after the release of HBO’s “Leaving Neverland” in 2019.

The court document claimed that he, along with unnamed associates, threatened to fabricate new sexual misconduct claims against Michael unless the estate paid up.

“For over 30 years, Mr. Cascio proudly described himself as part of Michael's ‘second family,’ and repeatedly and publicly denied any misconduct by Mr. Jackson,” a spokesperson for the estate revealed in a written statement to The Blast.

“Now, years after Michael’s passing, Mr. Cascio is attempting to profit by reversing his position and manufacturing claims he previously denounced as false,” they added.

Cascio had previously settled with the estate in January 2020 for $3.3 million, under a confidential agreement that included binding arbitration and a nondisclosure requirement. However, in mid-2024, he is said to have resurfaced with demands of $213 million, warning that he would go public if they were not met.

But despite the threats, the estate is determined to keep Michael’s legacy unstained.

“We will not allow the legacy of Michael Jackson to be exploited through threats and falsehoods,” estate attorney Martin D. Singer revealed.

Now, the estate is demanding enforcement of the arbitration clause, calling Cascio’s threat a “shakedown” and a breach of their agreement.