Who Will Get Custody of Michael Jackson’s Kids?
Rumors are circulating that Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson’s mother, currently has custody of his three children, and plans to fight for custody of them. Debbie Rowe is the biological mother of Michael’s two older children, Michael Joseph Jr. and Paris Michael Katherine. The Rowe and Jackson were married in November 1996 when Rowe was already pregnant with Michael Jr. Michael Jr. was born in February of 1997 and Rowe gave birth to Paris on April of 1998. The couple divorced shortly thereafter, reportedly because Rowe was unable to have more children after the difficult birth of Paris. Rowe was paid a multimillion dollar settlement in exchange for giving Jackson custody of her two children. Jackson’s third child, Blanket, was born via an unknown surrogate.
According to TMZ, Jackson family lawyers have indicated that Katherine wants custody of all three children. If Rowe were to fight for custody, Jackson would have a difficult fight on her hands. Katherine would have to prove that Rowe was unfit to have custody, and that is a pretty high bar. It is not a “best interest of the child” standard, as it would be in a divorce case, because this involves a biological mother and a third party relative. However, it would appear from media reports that Rowe is unlikely to pursue custody of her children as she has not previously maintained contact with them.