Friend: Rowe to attend custody hearing

LOS ANGELES, July 12 (UPI) -- A friend of Debbie Rowe's says the former wife of the late singer Michael Jackson will attend a Los Angeles custody hearing involving her two children.

Marc Schaffel said the biological mother of Jackson's children, Prince Michael, 12, and Paris, 11, would be on hand in Los Angeles Superior Court July 20 as the court attempts to determine who the temporary guardian for the pop star's three kids will be, People.com reported Saturday.

"(Debbie) says that she will definitely be at the custody hearing," Schaffel said.

Rowe's children, along with Jackson's other son, Prince Michael II, 7, have been in the custody of their grandmother Katherine since the "Thriller" star died June 25.

Katherine Jackson, who was named the guardian of the three children in her son's will, has petitioned the court to allow her to retain custody.

Officials told People magazine neither Rowe nor Katherine Jackson are required to attend the July 20 custody hearing.