Family to Make Play for Michael Jackson's Fortune

Aug. 3, 2009 — -- Katherine Jackson will appear in a Los Angeles courtroom today in the hopes of becoming a co-executor of Michael Jackson's multimillion-dollar estate, an attempt to wrest control of her son's fortune from the two men he handpicked to oversee his legacy.

Rather than contest the will outright -- a risky maneuver that if unsuccessful would cost Katherine, 79, the money she already is assured -- the family is instead trying to raise questions about the legitimacy of the executors Jackson named in his will.

Aside from Jackson's children, Katherine Jackson was the only member of the family named in Jackson's will.

As a co-executor she, and by extension her husband Joe Jackson, would have a hand in how Michael Jackson's money and estate will be handled in the future -- a role Jackson did not want his family members to have. If named a co-executor of the estate, Katherine Jackson would also be entitled to a sizeable executor's fee.

Katherine Jackson's lawyers last week signaled a potential battle for control of the estate, raising questions in the media about the authenticity of the will and filing documents in court to squeeze information from the two men Jackson named executors in his 2002 will -- longtime manager John Branca and lawyer John McClain.

"The question," Katherine's lawyer Londell McMillan said July 31 on CBS's "The Early Show," "is what happened to this will in 2002? How come no one knew about it? How come Mrs. Jackson didn't know about it? How come I didn't know about it? How come we learned about it the day we filed a petition in court stating he died without a will?"