Even in death, the King of Pop got the royal treatment. The bills prove it. Court documents reveal Michael Jackson’s September funeral cost more than a million bucks, with the estate shelling out $35,000 for his burial garments, $3,682 for framing of his photo and $21,455 for the late-night restaurant reception.
“I probably would have done it less expensively, but it was Michael Jackson. He was bigger than life when he was alive, and there’s no reason why his funeral shouldn’t be bigger than life,” estate attorney Howard Weitzman said.
The biggest-ticket item was the $855,730.31 contract with Forest Lawn Memorial Park – including $590,000 for title to Jacko’s crypt.
The cost details out yesterday came after Katherine Jackson’s lawyer announced she was ending her war with the executors appointed in her son’s will.
“She wants the fighting to end and to get on with the business of making money for the estate and not spending money on these disputes,” her attorney Adam Streisand told a judge.
A lawyer for her husband, Joe Jackson, called the surprise deal “despicable.”
“She has now reneged on her obligation to her family,” lawyer Brian Oxman said, stating that Joe Jackson still planned to challenge the will to get more control.
The judge okayed the executors’ authority over Joe Jackson’s claim they “discriminated” against him when they gave Katherine a monthly allowance but not him. He wants a stipend, too, saying he was a “dependant” of his son and can’t live on the $1,700 he receives monthly from Social Security.
The judge said the family patriarch can petition for an allowance but not much else. “Joe Jackson ultimately takes none of this estate, and that was a decision his son made,” the judge said.
Source: NY Daily News
Writer: ndillon@nydailynews.com
