Joe Jackson can't inherit King of Pop's assets

Michael Jackson's father is not entitled to a share of his son's assets because he is not named in the late singer's will, a California judge says.

At the end of a fractious all-day hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, Judge Mitchell Beckloff also told the Jackson family patriarch he had no right to challenge the appointment of the executors to his son's will.

Earlier in the day, Katherine Jackson, Michael's mother and guardian to his three children, withdrew her objections to the executors he had named in his will.

'There's no reason he [Michael Jackson] should not have a funeral that's larger than life.' —Howard Weitzman, lawyer

Her lawyer, Adam Streisand, said his client believed it was time to stop fighting over the executors and have them get on with the job of earning money from the estate.

That freed the way for Beckloff to appoint attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain as executors.

The judge said Joe Jackson had no standing in the dispute over appointment of executors and no right to challenge the will.

 "I don't think he gets to step into this and create further litigation," the judge declared. "Joe Jackson takes none of this estate. This is a decision his son made."

This Is It a hit

Michael Jackson died June 25 at age 50 and left most of his money to his children and charity. His death was ruled a homicide.

Branca and McClain, the executors he appointed to manage his estate, are already generating income from it. They were credited as executive producers on This Is It, the documentary that has already brought $60 million US into the estate.

The judge said Joe Jackson can pursue a family allowance from the estate because the singer gave him an allowance during his lifetime.

Jackson, a retired steelworker, managed and trained his children and organized the Jackson 5. He now lives separately from his wife.

The judge has set Dec. 10 for a hearing to determine how much he might get. Jackson says his expenses exceed $15,000 US a month.

In another development, the court released an accounting that the estate had paid nearly $1 million in expenses for the private family funeral at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

The costs included $855,730 to Forest Lawn for cemetery and funeral charges, including the purchase of plots adjacent to Michael's.

The organizers also spent:

• $11,716 for invitations and programs.
• $35,000 for burial garments.
• $30,000 for cars and security.
• $15,000 to a designer.

"I would have done it less expensively. But it was Michael Jackson, who was larger than life," Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for the estate administrators, said outside court. "There's no reason he should not have a funeral that's larger than life."