The payments and records at issue
Paris wants the court to reduce the compensation rate applied to the estate's gross entertainment-related income for 2023 and 2024 from 15% to 10%. Under her request, that lower rate would remain in place until the estate supplies complete and accurate financial records.
The October 23, 2026, motion runs 12 pages and was submitted by her attorneys at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, Deadline reported. According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline, her lawyers contend that Branca did not fulfill an April 24 court order for updated accountings. They say a September 15 deadline was extended to September 30, but the records ultimately filed still lacked required information.
The disputed compensation totals $109,219,648.27 across Branca, McClain and the Ziffren law firm, rather than an individual payment of that amount to Branca. Paris's attorneys allege that $90,944,957 in executor compensation was paid without prior court approval. They also identify an alleged $972,442.24 discrepancy in the 2024 accounting and say beneficiaries need the supporting records to evaluate the figures.
The filing sharply criticizes the relationship between the payments and Branca's alleged failures: "Paris respectfully submits that the gap between Executor's level of compensation and his persistent incompetence is intolerable."
Paris also seeks repayment of her legal fees and costs. Her attorneys cite California Probate Code Section 12205, which permits compensation reductions in certain cases involving delays in administering an estate. They say obtaining records that beneficiaries should be able to access has required her to spend additional time and money.
Estate says the fees were court-approved
The estate disputes both the motion's merits and its description of the payments. A spokesperson for the Branca-led estate told Rolling Stone: "It is an understatement to say that this motion is completely without merit."
The spokesperson said: "[Paris'] attorneys have motioned for a reduction in executor compensation, when in fact the executors waived that from the estate's beginning, and have never taken any executor compensation. They are paid a separate, court-ordered management fee for operating the hugely successful Michael Jackson business."
That response draws a distinction between traditional executor compensation and the percentage-based management payments Paris wants reduced. The estate's position is that the management arrangement already has judicial approval.
In its late-October 2026 response, the estate also said the deadlines for filing the 2025 and 2026 accountings were still six and 14 months away, respectively.
Earlier challenges and the estate's finances
Paris previously succeeded in challenging bonuses Branca authorized for three lawyers working with the estate. In May 2026, a judge ordered the lawyers to return $625,000, finding that the information submitted did not establish that the bonuses were justified and reasonable. Complex reported that Paris then requested $463,752 in accrued interest from the executors that same month, following the ruling requiring the money paid to outside counsel to be returned to the estate.
Questions about financial disclosure predate the latest motion. Paris and her brothers have raised concerns over how regularly beneficiaries receive financial information. According to Complex, Paris, Prince, 29, and Bigi, 24, are beneficiaries of the Michael Jackson Family Trust. Deadline reported in October 2026 that Paris, 28, had reportedly received about $65 million from her father's estate.
The estate earns revenue from music, licensing and other entertainment activities. Reporting on its finances and the estate's account of Branca's management put its estimated value at roughly $2 billion as of October 2026, compared with more than $500 million in debt when Jackson died in 2009. Estate representatives credit the management team with that turnaround. Paris argues that an operation of this size makes full financial disclosure especially important.
Jackson named Branca and McClain as co-executors in his will, signed July 7, 2002. A judge confirmed their appointments in July 2009, a month after the singer died at age 50. McClain's death on May 26, 2026, left Branca as the surviving executor.
Judicial referee Mitchell Beckloff is scheduled to hear Paris's latest request on December 4, 2026. The court has not ruled on her demand, and the allegations against Branca remain disputed.
