At my house we just started giving allowances to our kids so long as they do certain chores around the house, and hopefully the experiment will teach them a number of lessons including personal responsibility, teamwork, the value of hard work, budgeting, saving, etc. Each of our children will receive one dollar (per year of their age) per week, i.e., our 7 year old will receive $7 per week so long as he does his chores every day (and is docked a buck if he doesn’t get them done). I am hopeful that this will work, but the jury is still out as they have not yet caught on, for example, to the requisite bedmaking every morning.
That allowance, of course, is a mere pittance to the allowance that Michael Jackson’s father is claiming from his son’s estate. I wrote about Michael’s death a few weeks ago, and sure enough it appears that there are some post-funeral disputes with respect to who will benefit from the assets in his estate. Specifically, an article today reveals that the gloved one’s controversial father, Joe Jackson, recently filed a 60-page motion seeking a $15,000 monthly allowance to help cover his expenses. Apparently Mr. Jackson’s only income other than his son’s assistance has been a $1,700 monthly Social Security check. His alleged monthly expenses evidently include $1,200 for rent for his Las Vegas home (his wife of 50 years lives north of Los Angeles), $2,500 for eating out, $1,000 for entertainment, gifts and vacations; $2,000 for air travel; and $3,000 on hotels. That actually does not sound too unreasonable considering Vegas prices, separate and distinct from the issue of whether Mr. Jackson should receive a dime to begin with . . .
Anyway, a judge has ruled that Mr. Jackson can pursue his motion to receive a family allowance from the estate because he claimed his son had long been supporting him, but simultaneously ruled that he will not inherit any of his famous son’s assets because he was not named in the will. Mr. Jackson was deemed not to have standing to pursue his litigation, and therefore also will not be able to challenge the appointment of the executors chosen by the singer to handle the administration of his estate. There is some indication from the article that an appeal may be forthcoming, but given the well-publicized strained relationship that Michael and Joe Jackson have had in the past it seems unlikely that an appellate court would overrule the trial judge’s factual findings as to Michael’s intent in drafting his will.
Matt House can be contacted by telephone at 501-372-6555, by e-mail at mhouse@jamesandhouse.com, by facsimile at 501-372-6333, or by regular mail at James, Fink & House, P.A., Post Office Box 3585, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203.
