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Jackson ex-wife shows interest in custody of kids
The future of Michael Jackson's children was thrown into question when his ex-wife emerged and won a delay in a custody hearing while she decides whether she wants to raise her two offspring.
- AP
- Published: 09:18 July 3, 2009
Los Angeles: The future of Michael Jackson's children was thrown into question when his ex-wife emerged and won a delay in a custody hearing while she decides whether she wants to raise her two offspring.
It was the first legal move from Deborah Rowe since the entertainer's death. Jackson's will asks for his mother, Katherine, to get permanent custody of all three of his children.
Rowe, who met Jackson as a receptionist in the office of his dermatologist, has characterised their relationship as strictly for the purpose of birthing Jackson children. She is the mother of his two oldest children and received $8.5 million in their divorce, according to court records. His youngest child was conceived with a surrogate.
She has spent very little time with her son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12 and daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11. But Rowe also has opposed the idea of Katherine Jackson getting custody of her children when it came up in the past.
Rowe's attorney, Eric M. George, said Thursday she had not decided whether to seek custody.
Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff rescheduled a guardianship hearing for July 13 at the request of attorneys for Rowe and for Katherine Jackson, 79, who has temporary guardianship of her son's children.
The identity of the surrogate mother of the singer's youngest child, 7-year-old son Prince Michael II, has never been revealed.
Jackson's public memorial is set for 10am (1400 GMT) Tuesday at the Staples Centre in downtown Los Angeles, according to a press release from the office of the Jackson family's publicist.
Randy Phillips, chief executive of AEG Live, which owns the Staples Centre and was Jackson's promoter, said tickets would be free but was not sure how they would be distributed.
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