Michael Jackson was in more than $500 million of debt at the time of his death in June 2009, according to new court documents obtained by Us Weekly.
The executors of Jackson’s will and estate, John Braca and John McClain, filed paperwork on Monday, June 24, seeking authorization to compensate attorneys for services performed between July and December 2018, pointing out the “extraordinarily challenging circumstances” they have faced as executors.
“At the time of Michael Jackson’s death, Michael Jackson’s most significant assets were subject to more than $500 million of debt and creditors’ claims, with some of the debt accruing interest at extremely high interest rates, and some debt in default,” the docs read. “Michael Jackson had additionally incurred considerable expense in connection with preparations for his concert tour, This Is It. As a result, his untimely death, virtually on the eve of that concert tour, left his Estate with financial liability approximating $40 million to the concert promoter, AEG, and little hope of generating income from his already highly leveraged asset.”
The executors also pointed to Jackson being the “defendant in a number of lawsuits” at the time of his death as an additional drain on his funds before outlining the value they have brought to Jackson’s estate.
“The Executors, with the assistance of their legal counsel, have continued to act promptly and decisively to identify and analyze the issues, marshal and control the assets, defend the Estate in the active litigation and aggressively protect and enforce the Estate’s trademarks and copyrights worldwide,” the filing argues, adding that Braca and McClain have renegotiated financial arrangements “to avoid the loss of any assets to the lenders and ultimately to satisfy the encumbrances that existed at the time of Michael’s death.”
The duo also claimed to have “entered into unprecedented business deals that have produced, and will in the future produce, significant revenues for the Estate” and noted that they “continue to provide uninterrupted support” for Jackson’s three children: sons Prince, 27, and Bigi, 22, and daughter Paris, 26.
Braca and McClain are requesting compensation for achieving “extraordinary results” with the help of legal counsel despite Jackson’s “business affairs [being] in disarray” at the time of his death. They are seeking more than $3.5 million to compensate various law firms for providing “extraordinary services for the benefit of the Estate.”
Jackson died at age 50 while preparing for his This Is It tour. He died from an overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was convicted on involuntary manslaughter charges in 2011 for his involvement in Jackson’s death.