Keeping track of Michael Jackson’s legal affairs is a full-time job. Actually, I’m guessing that’s several people’s full-time jobs. Perhaps a small factory worth of people. Because it is physically impossible for the human brain to hold even 25% of Michael Jackson’s legal data for more than twelve hours. Okay I’m pulling all of this out of thin air, but my point still stands.
I’m going to take you back a few years, to a more simple, innocent time. 2005, to be exact. Back then, Jackson and ex-wife Debbie Rowe were involved in a custody case over their two children. Debbie was trying to completely give up her legal rights to her children, something most people found strange. While that appeared to be what happened, it turns out the case wasn’t followed through properly, and her rights were never terminated. Therefore, custody of Paris and Prince Michael will likely go to her.
Debbie Rowe is poised to take full custody of the two children she bore for Michael Jackson.
It has been widely reported Debbie Rowe gave up her parental rights to Paris and Michael Jr. That is not true.
During the custody fight that Rowe had with Jackson in 2005, she attempted to give up her parental rights, saying Michael was the greatest father ever. Retired Judge Stephen Lachs, who presided over the hearing, initially ruled her rights were terminated … but then Lachs reversed his decision.
Here’s what happened. We spoke with Lance Spiegel, the lawyer who repped Jackson at the time. Spiegel says under the law, the Department of Children and Family Services must conduct a parental fitness investigation before parental rights are terminated and that didn’t happen with Rowe.
So Rowe has never given up any of her parental rights. As a result, under California law, Rowe is now presumed to be the person who will get custody. The only way Rowe can be denied custody is if a court determines it would be “detrimental to the children.”
As for whether Rowe will ask for custody …. our sources say you can bet on it. We’re told if Rowe gets custody she will get “a huge amount of child support from Jackson’s estate.”
[From TMZ]
From the best I can ascertain, Debbie hasn’t had much of a relationship with her children since she and Michael divorced in 2001. The Daily Mail had a strange interview with her in February 2008 in which she said she saw them once in a while but was more concerned with talking about her animals. She did petition to have her parental rights restored in 2006, even though she was the one requesting their termination in 2005. From the way TMZ phrases it, it sounds like her rights were never terminated due to a technicality or an error, not because of the 2006 application. Though there are so many legal issues it’s hard to be sure. Suffice it to say, if she wants her kids, it looks like Debbie Rowe will have them.
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