LOS ANGELES — A judge approved a pay bump Monday for the executors of Michael Jackson’s estate who turned the debt-ridden singer’s portfolio into a business that has earned hundreds of millions of dollars since his death.
Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff allowed attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain to bill the estate separately for their professional services, which include entertainment-related legal counsel and use of a recording studio founded by Marvin Gaye.
Attorneys for Branca and McClain sought the change, saying the executors spend an increasing amount of time on Jackson’s estate and have been paying legal expenses to Branca’s firm out of their share of the earnings.
The men agreed in February 2010 to accept 10 per cent of the gross entertainment-related earnings of the estate, minus money generated by Jackson’s 50 per cent interest in the Sony-ATV music catalogue and earnings from This Is It, a film compiled from the singer’s final rehearsals.