Who’s entitled to Jackson’s dwindling estate?

Michael Jackson’s status as one of the most influential figures in the world of music over the last five decades will rarely be debated, but his legacy is sure to be a heated contest.
Little is known about the King of Pop’s will and estate plans at the moment, with Mr. Jackson’s death yesterday from an apparent cardiac arrest unearthing a rash of open questions about his finances.
For one, whether the three children that Mr. Jackson has left behind, or any other members of his star-studded family, will be entitled to what’s left of Mr. Jackson’s dwindling wealth is entirely unclear at the moment.
His most valuable asset is said to be the 50% stake he purchased more than 20 years ago in the catalog of published music owned by London-based ATV Music, which includes the rights to all of the Beatles songs. This stake, which Mr. Jackson originally acquired for roughly $48 million, is now estimated to be worth upwards of $500 million, according to reports.
The rights to Mr. Jackson’s own music are in a separate company that he owns, and combined with the Beatles’ catalog, his musical property assets are said to be valued at nearly $1 billion.
Yet various published reports today have estimated that Mr. Jackson died owing from $400 million to $500 million to a wide range of creditors, and noted that his ownership stake of the Beatles’ catalog may be tapped as a primary source to pay off his debts.
At the height of his fame in 1988, Mr. Jackson bought the sprawling Neverland ranch, a 2,500-acre property nestled in the hills of Santa Barbara County’s wine country, for $14.6 million.

But his charmed life was rocked in 1993 when he was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy.
“That kind of represents the beginning of the walk down a tragic path, financially, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, legally,” said Michael Levine, his publicist at the time.
Mr. Jackson settled with the boy’s family, but other accounts of his alleged pedophilia began to emerge.
When he ran into further financial problems, he agreed to a deal with New York-based Sony Corp. of America in 1995 to merge the ATV catalog with Sony’s library of songs for $95 million, retaining half-ownership. Then in 2001, he used his half of the ATV assets as collateral to secure $200 million in loans from Bank of America Corp. of Charlotte, N.C.
As his financial problems continued, Jackson began to borrow large sums of money, according to a 2002 lawsuit by South Korea’s Union Finance & Investment Corp. that sought $12 million in unpaid fees and expenses.
In 2003, Jackson was arrested on charges that he molested another 13-year-old boy. The 2005 trial, which ultimately ended in an acquittal, brought to light more details of Jackson’s strained finances.
One forensic accountant testified that the singer had an “ongoing cash crisis” and was spending $20 million to $30 million per year more than he earned.
In March of last year, the singer faced foreclosure on Neverland. He also repeatedly failed to make mortgage payments on a house in Los Angeles that had been used for years by his family.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.