Jackson will filed, cuts out Debbie Rowe

Published: July 1, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Michael Jackson tribute held at the Apollo in New York

LOS ANGELES, July 1 (UPI) -- A will written in 2002 by the late pop superstar Michael Jackson was filed in Los Angeles Wednesday, officials said.

The document was filed by a lawyer representing Jackson's estate, Los Angeles County Superior Court officials told CNN, which reported it specifically cuts out his former wife and the presumed mother of his two eldest children, Debbie Rowe.

"I have intentionally omitted to provide for my former wife," the broadcaster quoted the will as saying.

In the document, Jackson also names singer Diana Ross as his alternate choice of guardian for his children in the event his mother, Katherine Jackson, 79, is unable to raise Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Michael Prince "Blanket" II, 7, E! Online reported.

"If any of my children are minors at the time of my death, I nominate my mother, Katherine Jackson, as guardian of the persons and estates of such minor children," the will says. "If Katherine Jackson fails to survive me, or is unable or unwilling to act as guardian, I nominate Diana Ross as guardian of the persons and estates of such minor children."

As previously reported, E! Online said Jackson's will also stipulates all his estate and assets be placed in the private Michael Jackson Family Trust.

Longtime entertainment lawyer John Branca and family friend and music producer John McClain are were named as executors of the estate.

"The most important element of Michael's will is his unwavering desire that his mother, Katherine, become the legal guardian for his three children," Branca and McClain said in a joint statement Wednesday. "As we work to carry out Michael's instructions to safeguard both the future of his children as well as the remarkable legacy he left us as an artist we ask that all matters involving his estate be handled with the dignity and the respect that Michael and his family deserve."

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