
Michael Jackson's will gives guardianship over his children to the singer's mother and leaves all his assets in a trust fund, a person with knowledge of the document told reporters on Tuesday.
The word came just a day after the family said in court documents it believed the entertainer had died without a valid will and moved to take control over his estate.
The will was signed on July 7, 2002, and named as executors Jackson's longtime lawyer John Branca and John McClain, a music executive and a family friend, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the topic. The Jackson family and its lawyers are reviewing the document, the person said.
According to a statement given to CNN's "Larry King Live" on behalf of Branca and McClain, the two men are carrying out Jackson's wishes and "it is their sincere desire that Michael’s affairs be handled with dignity and respect."
That designation complicates a petition by Jackson's mother Katherine to become the administrator of his lucrative, but debt-encumbered estate.
In documents filed in Superior Court on Monday, Jackson's parents say they believe their 50-year-old son died "intestate," or without a valid will.
Judge Mitchell Beckloff granted 79-year-old Katherine Jackson temporary guardianship of his three children, who range in age from 7 to 12.
He also gave her control over some of her son's personal property that is now in the hands of an unnamed third party. But the judge did not immediately rule on her requests to take charge of the children's and Jackson's estates.
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