Estate Management Report

[PCR]

I always said that Michael was "cash poor but asset rich". Even at the worst scenario (that he had no income and had to pay all the debts/loans), he could have sold Sony/ATV paid all his debt and still end up with hundreds of millions. He wasn't going broke.

This.
:yes:

Some other things that's not mentioned is they paid Leonard Rowe's creditor claim and working on an settlement agreement with John Landis and Ola Ray for Thriller.

Ola RAy????? :bugeyed
What for?? I just knew about Landis, but Ola Ray.... too??? :doh:

 

[PCR]

By the way...

Ivy... you rock!!!!! :clapping:

Without your summaries, I would be even more lost. Thanks so, so much!!!

 

[blankyluvdoodoo]

By the way...

Ivy... you rock!!!!! :clapping:

Without your summaries, I would be even more lost. Thanks so, so much!!!

yup thank u ivy.

 

[Justthefacts]

I haven't read what TMZ wrote when I was making the summary. Let me go check and comment on it. Blue - TMZ reports

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Jackson owed 10's of millions of bucks at the time he died.

I believe they are going with the creditor's claim of $26M for this statement. However that's the creditor's claim filed but not accepted by the estate.

"We've previously reported how the Jackson family was about to lose their home in Encino and Jackson was on the brink of going belly up."

I believe Encino statement is true. However the major debts in MJ's life in other words loans on Sony/ATV and Mijac was due to mature end of 2010 and during 2011 respectively. It's a stretch to say that he was going belly up by mid 2009. Those loans could have been refinanced and/or paid partially or fully by TII concerts and/or any other project.

"Executors John Branca and John McClain turned things around in a big way, for two primary reasons. First, they restructured all of his debts and got creditors to significantly lower killer interest rates."

This is - I mean lower fixed interest rates and refinancing - mentioned in the documents, so true

Secondly, the executors went full bore to generate revenue -- and the brass ring was the movie, "This Is It." According to the docs, the flick grossed $260,000,000, the most lucrative documentary in history.

As for the album, "This Is It," it sold 5 million copies, making it the 3rd biggest album in 2009.

As for other deals, the executors:

- Republished the "Moonwalk" book
- Made mega-merchandising agreements for all things *****
- Distributed a leather-bound, coffee table book on the life of MJ
- Renegotiated MJ's royalty agreements with record label

all mentioned in the document all true

But there were lots of legal fees that were incurred to make the estate money -- more than $3.8 million since Jackson's death.

I haven't added up the numbers but yes there was a lot of legal fees about the lawsuits, deals, estate management, copyright issues etc etc before and after Michael's death. Therefore this number is not surprising and most probably true.

The estate also notes what we've already reported -- that they paid off the Jackson family home in Encino, bought Katherine Jackson a car and did lots of other stuff for the family.

all mentioned in the documents. I guess by "lots of other stuff" they mean improvements and repairs on Hayvenhurst and paying staff, security and management of the property.

The estate made a bunch of decisions on creditors' claims, but four stand out.

-- Dr. Arnold Klein submitted two claims for medical services in the months before Michael Jackson died -- totaling $58,522.89. Pretty ironic, since some people in the Jackson world believe Klein contributed to MJ's death. The estate has taken no action so far -- neither rejecting nor paying the dough.

-- Tom Mesereau, the lawyer who did a remarkable job in Jackson's 2005 molestation trial. Mesereau submitted a claim for $341,452.05. The estate paid the lawyer in full.

-- Kai Chase, the cook who was at Jackson's home the morning he died and the woman who interacted with Dr. Conrad Murray that day, submitted a claim for $8,000. The executors compromised with Chase and settled the claim by making partial payment. This one is interesting because some of MJ's family got pissed off when she made the rounds on TV following his death.

-- Raymone Bain, MJ's longtime publicist and friend who had a mega falling-out with Jackson, had filed two claims totaling $404,000. The estate rejected the claim and Bain sued. The court tossed her case out.

All true. Pages 44-46 is showing all the creditor claims and what the estate has paid or rejected or still working on.

Some other things that's not mentioned is they paid Leonard Rowe's creditor claim and working on an settlement agreement with John Landis and Ola Ray for Thriller.

They rejected Helen Harris-Scott claim for $50M who filed a lawsuit against Michael in 2006, claiming Jackson installed a tracking device in her car, wiretapped her phone and even had "organized criminals watching me inside my house in L.A. and reporting to him.". she filed a lawsuit but it got dismissed but she filed an appeal.

Nona Paris Lola Ankhesenamun Jackson and Malachi Jet Jackson got rejection notices at April 2010. It doesn't look like they filed lawsuits. However Raymone Bain has filed appeal for the dismissial.

The Jackson Estate just filed a partial inventory of the tangible property MJ left behind when he died. Here's how it breaks down:

- Encino mansion ... $4,150,000
- Encino condo ... $315,000
- Desert Auto, LLC (in CA) ... $676,317
- 1998 Rolls-Royce ... $100,000
- 1990 Rolls-Royce ... $55,000
- 1988 Rolls-Royce ... $40,000
- Several bank accounts ... $444,260

Total: $5,780,577

It's a nice chunk of change, but nothing compared to the real jackpot ... MJ's Sony Music Catalog -- which has been valued as high as $1 billion.

Well this is not in the documents they posted before (executors say that they'll file a full inventory soon) but so much for Michael was going broke argument of TMZ.

I always said that Michael was "cash poor but asset rich". Even at the worst scenario (that he had no income and had to pay all the debts/loans), he could have sold Sony/ATV paid all his debt and still end up with hundreds of millions. He wasn't going broke.


Side note: As for the tax returns nobody should blame Michael for that. Apparently he didn't have accountants doing their job or he didn't have accountants at all. Wasn't he suing an accounting firm?

Thank you. Any profit Michael was making from his Sony/ATV catalog was being used to pay off his loans so his loans were being paid. I think I remember reading that all of his debt would have been paid by the end of 2011

 

[A. Sizzle]

Ivy saved me a lot of time. Thanks a lot.

 

[ivy]

Michael was above all, a father. I am SO sorry that Prince has had to grow up so fast.

see the thing is he doesn't have to grow up, that's the genius of Michael's estate plan.

As fans we want his children to control the estate, to run the business , to make the decisions and we want it to happen as soon as possible simply because they were the closest to Michael and can represent him the best. but forget whether or not they are able to do such a job, we more importantly do not even consider if they want to do such a job.

One of my closest childhood friend was the daughter of a wealthy businessman. she was the heir to the company and fortune, she was of course going to run the family business one day therefore she was to study management and business law. Well all she wanted to do was to study classical piano. I cannot tell you how much she resented her parents, how unhappy she was, how much she felt like she had no identity. Being forced into your parents footsteps may not always be a blessing.

Seriously even if the children were 18 years old now and could control the estate completely, why are we wishing them the job of the executors? Do we want them deal with tens of lawsuits, close to hundred creditors, relatives asking for allowances/money, all the drama that surround the estate, people taking advantage of them because of their money? Wasn't that Michael's life then why are we so eager to expose the children to the same conditions so fast? Perhaps as a father he didn't want his children to grow up any faster than they should, perhaps he didn't want to put them to the hot seat, perhaps he didn't want them to be a target to people because of their money? Why isn't that seen as a possibility?

I say let them be children, let them live their lives and when they are adults they can make their own decision, by that time they'll know what they want, be confident in their identity. Once again I call this genius on Michael's part.

The executors make money with every deal that is done, in a percentage. The profits of Branca/McClain are HUGE, because of this, and I just want everyone to understand this?

yes true they get 10 percent but 90 percent goes to children's trust funds which they get starting 30 years old. so yes Branca and McClain are making huge profits but Michael's children are making 9 times what they are making with every deal. Just because the money is being put to a bank account and they need to wait to get full access to it doesn't make the children's 90 percent any smaller.

for example for the $250 M Sony Deal
the executors get $25 million total - $12.5M individually
the children get $225 million total - $75M individually

plus any executor - let it be Bank of America or any of the Jacksons - would have make the same money from every deal. Again Branca and McClain making money/ getting paid due to estate is not something specific to them.

 

[Autumn II]

My POINT is, there is profit, and there is the legacy. Where are the experts in music, assisting in all of this? Michael was SO important as a cultural force, that he deserves the very best. It is really NOT all about the money. It's NOT.

 

[ivy]

Leonard Rowe got money I thought he got turned down? Well I guess technically he did work for Michael for a bit

well he got paid $51K, his full claim amount.

Ola RAy????? :bugeyed
What for?? I just knew about Landis, but Ola Ray.... too??? :doh:

just like Landis she had a lawsuit filed before Michael's death for unpaid royalties from the Thriller video.

oh btw the estate didn't respond to Tohme's creditor claim.

 

[Justthefacts]

Maybe you don't know this but John McClain is the music expert

 

[blankyluvdoodoo]

see the thing is he doesn't have to grow up, that's the genius of Michael's estate plan.

As fans we want his children to control the estate, to run the business , to make the decisions and we want it to happen as soon as possible simply because they were the closest to Michael and can represent him the best. but forget whether or not they are able to do such a job, we more importantly do not even consider if they want to do such a job.

One of my closest childhood friend was the daughter of a wealthy businessman. she was the heir to the company and fortune, she was of course going to run the family business one day therefore she was to study management and business law. Well all she wanted to do was to study classical piano. I cannot tell you how much she resented her parents, how unhappy she was, how much she felt like she had no identity. Being forced into your parents footsteps may not always be a blessing.

Seriously even if the children were 18 years old now and could control the estate completely, why are we wishing them the job of the executors? Do we want them deal with tens of lawsuits, close to hundred creditors, relatives asking for allowances/money, all the drama that surround the estate, people taking advantage of them because of their money? Wasn't that Michael's life then why are we so eager to expose the children to the same conditions so fast? Perhaps as a father he didn't want his children to grow up any faster than they should, perhaps he didn't want to put them to the hot seat, perhaps he didn't want them to be a target to people because of their money? Why isn't that seen as a possibility?

I say let them be children, let them live their lives and when they are adults they can make their own decision, by that time they'll know what they want, be confident in their identity. Once again I call this genius on Michael's part.

so true .every one want them do their fathers job .let them decide what they want to be,for now let them enjoy their childhood for which Michael worked very hard.

 

[love is magical]

Michael was extremly smart, wasn't he? He laid out a good plan for his children.

I agree with Ivy. The children don't really need to the the administrators of the Estate. As long as they are not being taken advantage of and all Michael Jackson related assets, both tangible and intangible, are being taken care of with upmost care.

Somtimes it's bothering to see how so many fans want the children, especially Blanket, to follow Michael's footstep. Becasuse of Blanket's resemblance to little Michael, people dream about seeing "another Michael Jackson" singing and dancing onstage. We all miss Michael too much and hope one day one of his children can do what Michael did - to entertain.

The children already need to fight for their identities. They are always labelled as "Michael Jackson's children". If they go into showbiz, can you imagine? Everything they sing, everything they do will be compared to Michael's. The pressure will be enormous. They will be asked to live up to Michael Jackson's standard.

Let the children be what they want to be. That's what Michael wanted.

 

[Big Apple2]

I can see why Michael "may" have wanted to get some of the OLD TEAM back together again.

Branca went in there "tweeked," "refinanced," and "cleaned up" where needed. All without having to make any back alley deals with the likes of folks like Damon Dash's cousin and the folks over at Precisent (sp).

In my opinion, Michael's estate is in VERY good hands!

One thing I did find very odd is the fact that Ms. Katherine had the threat of losing her home looming over her head for a minute and that her electric bill had gone unpaid for a number of months. Where were all of the "other" BIG BALLERS, when their momma needed them (especially the ones who had children living within the Havenhurst home)?

 

[MJStorm]

yes true they get 10 percent but 90 percent goes to children's trust funds which they get starting 30 years old. so yes Branca and McClain are making huge profits but Michael's children are making 9 times what they are making with every deal. Just because the money is being put to a bank account and they need to wait to get full access to it doesn't make the children's 90 percent any smaller.

for example for the $250 M Sony Deal
the executors get $25 million total - $12.5M individually
the children get $225 million total - $75M individually

plus any executor - let it be Bank of America or any of the Jacksons - would have make the same money from every deal. Again Branca and McClain making money/ getting paid due to estate is not something specific to them.

I did not understand.

The Executor will use the money for investments and debt payments. The children's money.

 

[Vici]

- Interesting point : As Katherine has no other income than the estate they loaned Katherine a redacted amount of money.

I saw this too while reading through it all and maybe im putting way too much emphasize on the word "LOANED" but does this mean she has to pay it back? If so, isnt that a bit kinda odd?

 

[Autumn II]

edit sorry I misunderstood: you mean the children become executors. By age 30 as they getting shares they'll have decision making power with the executors. by 40 they can run the estate - in other words be executors. before that I guess if we are talking of full control of the estate then the only way is the current executors naming them as the successor executors and then resigning. btw It's always possible for executors to ask them their opinions and put them on board of directors etc.
?

Actually, I did not mean "the children become executors." That is a detailed job requiring a lot of expertise in accounting, financial, and artistic decisions. Instead, I meant that when the children reach certain ages, I would hope that they will have ultimate decision-making capacity (but not the daily management of the estate). That should include their own choice of employees (executors) to manage the estate, comprised of their FATHER'S material assets. Michael was a smart man, and I'm sure his children are also very smart. I hope they will have control of what really IS theirs.

 

[Big Apple2]

I saw this too while reading through it all and maybe im putting way too much emphasize on the word "LOANED" but does this mean she has to pay it back? If so, isnt that a bit kinda odd?

In my opinion, the "loan," was sort of an advance coming from the money Ms. Katherine will eventually receive AFTER probate.

That's what I'm "thinking," maybe Ivy can come in and fill in the blanks.

 

[elusive moonwalker]

sweeeeet caroliiineeeeee
...................

$$$unk:

In my opinion, the "loan," was sort of an advance coming from the money Ms. Katherine will eventually receive AFTER probate.

That's what I'm "thinking," maybe Ivy can come in and fill in the blanks.

yeah thats what i think the doc said according to ivy. it was a loan that will be taken out of her money once probate is over. isnt it pathetic how none of her other children have stepped up to the plate to help her with the money issues. not surprising though. it always was take take take with some of them.

And they should have. This should be only for the eyes of the beneficiaries and the judge. They should know how the media is going to run with this. This is not about PR for themselves.

but then u would be crying conspriacy. u cant have it both ways.

thanks ivy great job as always

Instead, I meant that when the children reach certain ages, I would hope that they will have ultimate decision-making capacity

that happens when they get to 40 doesnt it.

 

[Memefan]

I can see why Michael "may" have wanted to get some of the OLD TEAM back together again.

Branca went in there "tweeked," "refinanced," and "cleaned up" where needed. All without having to make any back alley deals with the likes of folks like Damon Dash's cousin and the folks over at Precisent (sp).

In my opinion, Michael's estate is in VERY good hands!

One thing I did find very odd is the fact that Ms. Katherine had the threat of losing her home looming over her head for a minute and that her electric bill had gone unpaid for a number of months. Where were all of the "other" BIG BALLERS, when their momma needed them (especially the ones who had children living within the Havenhurst home)?

The rumor I have heard is MJ was tired of some of the people leeching off his mother. He wanted Hayvenhurst to be repossessed and for Katherine to move into his old condo.

Like I said this is just a rumor.

But I do find it odd that MJ got a nice chunk of money from AEG (advance for the O2 concerts), he was living a huge mansion while Hayvenhurst was about to be repossessed, electricity cut...and what not.

 

[Moonwalker.Fan]

it is good toknow hat Michael's Estte is doing well and that he excuoters re doing a good job

some MJ fans insist in other theads that MJ was sick , controlled, out of it , unabe to read his contracts and needed alot of money so that AEG was able to take advantage of him.... and in this thread they say Michael was vey strong and very rich and he was very able to manage himself and everything was rosy , so all what these lawyers are doing now is stealing his hard work ....honesty these fans make me confused...

So... the question still remains - why all the debts? Where are all the money? What MJ spent the money for...? ... if MJ was so strong, smart..., and everything was rosy... and everybody else was stealing his money of his had work?

:clapping: They really had their hands full and have been doin' a marvelous job.

Thank God. I hate to think what would have become of the estate if these guys had been removed from their positions.

where are these fans who called Branca and McClain leeches and conspirators...?
And again... it was necessary to get them on board to know how to manage MJs financial and business matters on the verge of disaster - loss/forfeiture of his assets (Sony/ATV, Mijac)... and the others advisors didnt know that? Evidently Michael didnt, he is not a businessman, he is the artist.

Now there is a hell of a lot of difference between what you just posted, and what i read on tmz.

with your post, here, all i see is a smart guy who didn't like to, and never did spend liquid, though the media desperately wanted him to(see Chrysler, Blockbuster, Nicholas Cage, Donald Trump..all who spent liquid, gambled or charged customers through the nose, which are all the same thing, and these guys all went bankrupt). and forgot to file a couple of income tax reports(something a whole lot of people do, rich and poor, but it doesn't shine a negative light on them, or mean they're losing everything. most people get it corrected, if they're still living, at the time, and don't have a smidgeon of MJ's responsibilities, yet he only forgot three out of thirty nine years[the length of his career..the rest of his life] of income tax reports. whereas with tmz, i saw a guy who was(once again)about to go bankrupt.

the objective version came earlier than i thought.

well... I dont see anything special about MJ and his spending of his money, except the fact that we cant/couldnt see luxury palaces, lavish lifestyle and so on, so where are all the money?
what about The Backhams, Brat Pitt and Anjelina Jolie... and other so.called celebrities buying villas, palaces, islands, cars... and they dont go to the bankruptcy???

I always said that Michael was "cash poor but asset rich". Even at the worst scenario (that he had no income and had to pay all the debts/loans), he could have sold Sony/ATV paid all his debt and still end up with hundreds of millions. He wasn't going broke.


Side note: As for the tax returns nobody should blame Michael for that. Apparently he didn't have accountants doing their job or he didn't have accountants at all. Wasn't he suing an accounting firm?

Well... IMO its still the example how incompetent Michael was as for his business matters - he had to realize on the others "advisors"..., his only life-line was Sony/ATV, without it, Michael would have been ruined long ago.

He was not a businessman, but the artist.

 

[elusive moonwalker]

So... the question still remains - why all the debts? Where are all the money? What MJ spent the money for...? ... if MJ was so strong, smart..., and everything was rosy... and everybody else was stealing his money of his had work?

mj is a billion $ empire.how do u think such ppl get money to invest. they take out loans.we might not ever know what the loans were for but they were probably used to invest. business dont have huge amounts of cash lieing around becasue its all invested in assets like mjs was. thats how u make your money.

where are these fans who called Branca and McClain leeches and conspirators...?
And again... it was necessary to get them on board to know how to manage MJs financial and business matters on the verge of disaster - loss/forfeiture of his assets (Sony/ATV, Mijac)... and the others advisors didnt know that? Evidently Michael didnt, he is not a businessman, he is the artist.

are you on aware of the refiancing that was done a few years ago. it did not involve branca and mclain. that refinancing addressed all his issues.where his loans would ahve matured at the end of this year and early next year. so why u think branca and mclain were brought into save mj i dont know. brance came back on board in june 09. otherwise they are only onboard as executors because mj died. im sure you know this but for some reason in all the years u have posted you like to act like mj was broke.

and they dont go to the bankruptcy???

who went into bankruptcy? cause mj certainly didnt. perhaps you should ask ppl like donald trump etc about how terrible business ppl they are seeing as they DID file. do u know the details behind the beckhams etc. are you aware of what loans they may have or not have.considering the fact they are worth a tiny % of what mj is worth

Well... IMO its still the example how incompetent Michael was as for his business matters - he had to realize on the others "advisors"..., his only life-line was Sony/ATV, without it, Michael would have been ruined long ago.

yes and mj was so incompetent to have thought of buying it in the first place. knowing that publishing was were it was at and where it would be at for decades to come.

you seem to have real issues with the money that mj made.

 

[Moonwalker.Fan]

mj is a billion $ empire.how do u think such ppl get money to invest. they take out loans.we might not ever know what the loans were for but they were probably used to invest. business dont have huge amounts of cash lieing around becasue its all invested in assets like mjs was. thats how u make your money.

Exactly!

But almost nobody states this as a fact!

From 2002 to 2008 Sony/ATV bought at least 4 huge catalogs for at least 700 mill. dollars...

 

[elusive moonwalker]

so now you contridict yourself. and the loans were personal not ATV ones

 

[love is magical]

So... the question still remains - why all the debts? Where are all the money? What MJ spent the money for...? ... if MJ was so strong, smart..., and everything was rosy... and everybody else was stealing his money of his had work?



where are these fans who called Branca and McClain leeches and conspirators...?
And again... it was necessary to get them on board to know how to manage MJs financial and business matters on the verge of disaster - loss/forfeiture of his assets (Sony/ATV, Mijac)... and the others advisors didnt know that? Evidently Michael didnt, he is not a businessman, he is the artist.



well... I dont see anything special about MJ and his spending of his money, except the fact that we cant/couldnt see luxury palaces, lavish lifestyle and so on, so where are all the money?
what about The Backhams, Brat Pitt and Anjelina Jolie... and other so.called celebrities buying villas, palaces, islands, cars... and they dont go to the bankruptcy???



Well... IMO its still the example how incompetent Michael was as for his business matters - he had to realize on the others "advisors"..., his only life-line was Sony/ATV, without it, Michael would have been ruined long ago.

He was not a businessman, but the artist.

Oh boy, Sony/ATV was not Michael's ONLY lifeline. He also had Mijac catalog, which consists of his own songs...

Most importantly, his biggest asset was HIMSELF. The man could create magic till the very last day he's with us.

I'm not saying he's a phenonmenal businessman. Why should he be? The chaos in his financial situation was forced upon him. Too many people took advantage of him. But, that' doesn't make him a "incompetent" businessman.

Also, people tend to believe the loans he obtained were used to support his "lavish" living style, which was not totally ture. People forgot that as a 50% owner of Sony/ATV, Michael had to chip in whenever Sony/ATV made a major purchases. In a lot of ways, Michael was doing what other businesses are doing. Got a loan using the catalog as collateral and invest the proceed back to the catalog.

Michael knew what he was doing. His intelligence was truly underestimated by many people.

Exactly!

But almost nobody states this as a fact!

From 2002 to 2008 Sony/ATV bought at least 4 huge catalogs for at least 700 mill. dollars...

Sorry, i'm confused by your previous post. you know the loans are obtained because of business need. but, you said michael was a lousy businessman... :scratch:

 

[ivy]

I did not understand.

The Executor will use the money for investments and debt payments. The children's money.

that's natural estate management expense- every executor would have to do it. for example of course the executors need to pay the taxes or the loan in Sony/ ATV if not Michael's property/ catalog will be repossessed by the government and/or the lenders. so that's normal and expected.

any business is always income - expenses = profits . you cannot ignore expenses.

I saw this too while reading through it all and maybe im putting way too much emphasize on the word "LOANED" but does this mean she has to pay it back? If so, isnt that a bit kinda odd?

the below 2 answers are right. it's just a way for the estate to give for some money in advance form during the probate process.

In my opinion, the "loan," was sort of an advance coming from the money Ms. Katherine will eventually receive AFTER probate.

yeah thats what i think the doc said according to ivy. it was a loan that will be taken out of her money once probate is over.

 

[Moonwalker.Fan]

so now you contridict yourself. and the loans were personal not ATV ones

Why? in what concretely?

personal loans also means that the person is not able to afford something from the earnings..., it also means that the person in not rightly running his personal matters...

Sorry, i'm confused by your previous post. you know the loans are obtained because of business need. but, you said michael was a lousy businessman... :scratch:

I didnt say that, I put a rhetorical question... and want an answer from you ..

I said he wasnt a businessman but the artist.
Its wasnt him personally who run the business matters in Sony/ATV.

 

[KaReEnA88]

I don't like their claim that they restored Michael's image and brand with This Is It and I'm not sure about their claim that This Is It is the first Michael Jackson song to make the chart in thirteen years.

After reading everything this is what takes your attention at first?

 

[love is magical]

I didnt say that, I put a rhetorical question... and want an answer from you ..

I said he wasnt businessman but the artist.
Its wasnt him personally who run the business matters in Sony/ATV.

Per your previous post "Well... IMO its still the example how incompetent Michael was as for his business matters - he had to realize on the others "advisors"..., his only life-line was Sony/ATV, without it, Michael would have been ruined long ago.

He was not a businessman, but the artist."

You said Michel was incompetent in his business matter. Nevermind, I think I understand what you meant now. You meant his advisors were not capable.

Ivy, thanks a lot. Your posts have made this thread very informative. I learned from reading your posts.

I just want to know what exactly is the probate process? And, how long it'll last?

 

[144000]

Even at the worst scenario (that he had no income and had to pay all the debts/loans), he could have sold Sony/ATV paid all his debt and still end up with hundreds of millions. He wasn't going broke.

he would have gone broke, eventually, in a number of years if he did that, even though that's a hell of a lot of money. ANYBODY would. because liquid money spends itself. MJ expressed that attitude, in some of the things he said. for him, going liquid wasn't an option. there are people who don't admit that saving money is impossible cus 'something' always comes up. ya see liquid money, and something takes over. the media knew that, and they desperately wanted Michael to sell his assets, hoping that eventually, Michael and his children would be out on the street.

so the good news will always be 'heavily leveraged.' it happens to all rich people who use that method. the only other alternative is...broke.

of course, when the media reports 'leveraged' for everybody else, who uses that method, 'leveraged' is the word the media will use. for Michael, the word they'll use is 'financial disarray. or...massive debt. or, something with a negative slant. because they're envious. of course, not too many people use Michael's method. Michael was a genius businessperson.

so, hopefully, next time the media reports on Michael's finances...no matter what they say..at the end of their 'report', we can say...Good.

 

[ivy]

I just want to know what exactly is the probate process? And, how long it'll last?

Very simply put probate process is
- identify the decedent's assets
- pay all the debts and taxes
- once the above steps completed distribute the assets to the beneficiaries.

Depending on the number and complexity or the assets this process could take ranging from a few weeks to even few years.

In an estate as big and as complex as Michael's I would expect the probate process to last 2-3 years.

 

[Moonwalker.Fan]

You said Michel was incompetent in his business matter. Nevermind, I think I understand what you meant now. You meant his advisors were not capable.

Yes, incompetent=unqualified.

And his so.called advisors and agents, representatives, or whoever who run MJs businesses, were evidently not capable.

14 months lasted for Estate (Branca and co.) to stabilize MJs (financial and business) empire, and everything seems to be perfect.

So they are all of a sudden capable and competent and erased almost all loans, debts and lawsuits.... throughout a year..., almost magically.... oh and get new deals and project for hundreds of millions....

Thats what I try to point out to...