Michael Jackson's longtime attorney and a family friend should take over the singer's estate, not his mother Katherine, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff ruled after a hearing Monday.
Attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain were named in the King of Pop's 2002 will as the people he wanted to administer his estate.
"Mr. Blanca and Mr. McClain are for now – for the next month – at the helm of the ship," Beckloff said.
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Questioning McClain and Branca's financial leadership, Katherine Jackson had applied to oversee her son's estate before the will surfaced.
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Branca and McClain will have to post a $1 million bond on the estate, Beckloff ruled. They will be in control of the estate until Aug. 3, when another hearing takes place.
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Katherine Jackson – who remains temporary guardian of Jackson's three children until a July 13 hearing – did not appear at Monday's hearing. Branca was there.
Despite dying June 25 in deep debt, a court filing estimates Jackson's estate will be worth more than $500 million.
