Jackson's father won't raise singer's children
Joe Jackson will not help raise Michael Jackson’s three children, according to court papers.
The Jackson family patriarch, who lives in Las Vegas, wrote in a statement filed in court on Monday that he only occasionally visited the family home in the San Fernando Valley, north of central Los Angeles.
Michael Jackson, 50, died on June 25.
“I have had a close family relationship with these grandchildren since their birth,” Mr Jackson wrote in the declaration dated July 13.
“I do visit the family residence from time to time and will continue to do so, however I will not be involved in raising the children.”
His two-page declaration expresses support for his estranged wife Katherine, who on Monday was granted permanent custody of singer Michael’s three children.
Joe Jackson wrote that his wife was “a wonderful caretaker and guardian”.
A judge had awarded Katherine Jackson a monthly allowance to help with the upkeep of the family’s home, where her three grandchildren are staying.
Court records released yesterday include forms signed by Jackson’s two oldest children, Prince Michael, 12, and Paris-Michael, 11, consenting to their grandmother serving as their guardian. The documents do not include any statements by the children.
Michael Jackson named his mother as the person he wanted to raise his children if he died, according to a 2002 will.
Records filed on Monday also include consent by Jackson’s ex-wife, Deborah Rowe, to Katherine Jackson’s guardianship of Prince Michael and Paris-Michael, to whom she gave birth while married to the King of Pop.
Under an agreement reached last week, Rowe will have some visits with the children that will be supervised by a child psychologist. A summary of the agreement filed with the court states that she does not have any parental rights to Jackson’s youngest son, Prince Michael II, also known as Blanket.
One of Katherine Jackson’s lawyers, Diane Goodman, told a judge on Monday that Blanket, seven, was born to a surrogate who has no parental rights. The surrogate mother has never been identified.
