Michael Jackson: The Estate Fight Begins

Okay, I'll admit it: I am fascinated by the Michael Jackson saga, as I figure I can call it now. My own current situation with family members fighting over money gives me an even more perverse desire to see how Jackson's estate is going to be administered. I mean, these people actually are fighting over millions of dollars. Word on the Internets is that there is a will that was drafted in 2002, that divides his assets among his children, his mother, and various charities. According to the Wall Street Journal, sources claim that the will could be submitted to the Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday.
I knew there was no way that Jackson would be flying around the world with all his assets and no will to administer them should he die. There was no way that a man who was that surrounded in attorneys would be so lax in having such a necessary piece of paper somewhere with his signature on it. By all accounts, he was good to his kids, and a will is the best thing anyone can do for their children.
It's intriguing to see the vultures circling. His father, Joe Jackson, is pimping his own label at press conferences on Jackson; the tour promoter is holding on to the final rehearsal's video and audio for a potential DVD package; and I'm sure, all manner of bottom-feeders will want to exploit him in more ways than I can imagine.
But here's more information on the singer's estate: Joe Jackson, who has been hogging every spotlight he can since his son's passing, is reportedly believed to have been left out of the 2002 will; it is not known if the 2002 will included instructions on custody of Jackson's three children; the will reportedly names lawyer John Branca and music executive John McClain as executors; and Jackson is said to have amassed approximately $500 million in debt, but that his assets could reportedly outweigh that by more than $200 million.
The most valuable part of the Jackson estate could be the singer's 50 percent stake in the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog, of which Jackson owned half. The 750,000-song music catalog includes the work of The Beatles, Neil Diamond, Lady Gaga and the Jonas Brothers, and is reportedly estimated to be worth about $2 billion.
I was never a HUGE Jackson fan, though I had an LP copy of Thriller (who didn't?), and maybe a cassette of Bad. At any rate, I do believe that we, as a pop-culture nation, have lost an incredible presence. And the fight (because there is no other word for it) for control of his family, his estate and his legacy, will do nothing but add to that phenomenon.