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TJ Jackson named temporary guardian of Michael Jackson's children
Published: 7/25/2012 2:32 PM
Last Modified: 7/26/2012 4:46 PM


From left to right, Blanket Jackson, Paris Jackson, and Prince Michael Jackson, seen arriving at the opening night of the Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour in Los Angeles in January, are caught in a battle over their late father Michael Jackson's will. DAN STEINBERG/AP Photo

Tito Joe (TJ) Jackson, 34, has been appointed temporary guardian of the late Michael Jackson's children Wednesday in Los Angeles, cnn.com reported.

"We have reason to believe that Mrs. Jackson has been held against her will," Katherine Jackson attorney Sandra Ribera reportedly told Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff at a hearing Wednesday, according to the website.

The judge also suspended Katherine Jackson as custodian for Prince, 15, Paris, 14, and Blanket, 10, because she may be "prevented from acting as a guardian because of the acts of third parties." He also ordered "that the children not be removed from California without a court order, by any person,” according to the website, adding that Diana Ross, who was named backup guardian by the late pop singer's will, and Debbie Rowe, biological mother of Paris and Prince, be notified of the order.

The judge said he would reconsider the order at a hearing next month or sooner if Katherine Jackson, who is reportedly under doctor’s orders at an undisclosed location in Tucson, Ariz., returns home.

Her nephew Trent Jackson filed a missing persons report Saturday after Mrs. Jackson had been out of touch with her grandchildren for more than a week. Her estate attorney Perry Sanders reported he traveled to Arizona where she was allegedly staying with her daughter Rebbie to check on Mrs. Jackson and was assured by Jermaine Jackson and sister Janet Jackson that she was fine but he was not allowed to see or speak to her, according to cnn.com.

After the attorney’s visit, the 82-year-old grandmother called home Tuesday night for the first time in nine days but TJ, son of the late pop singer's brother Tito Jackson, reported he was concerned by the way she sounded.

"I've never heard my grandmother talk like that," he said, according to the website. "She wasn't sharp. Her words were slurred. Her choice of vocabulary, I never heard her use those phrases."

Mrs. Jackson left her grandchildren in his care 10 days ago when she left July 15 “to attend a series of her sons' concerts on their Unity Tour. She never made the shows," according to Sandra Ribera, an attorney for Mrs. Jackson.

Family members Janet, Randy and Jermaine Jackson were involved in a confrontation with the children and Trent Jackson at the Jackson family's Calabasas home on Monday. The family members reportedly tried to convince the children to leave the home and go with them to see their grandmother, but they refused.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Department reported there was a scuffle between two family members at the home and a battery report was filed but no arrests were made.

The late pop singer's will named Katherine Jackson guardian of his children, who inherited 80 percent of his estate, and gave her 20 percent of the estate. Her husband and Michael's father, Joe Jackson, and the other eight children were left out of the will.

Read the custody order at tulsaworld.com/jacksoncustody


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Rita Sherrow grew up with TV. Yes, it was the ever-present “sister” from another techno mother. At first look, it was instant "Like." From then on, the TV had to be on in every room while she studied, elementary school through college. An Air Force brat, she attended school in three states (Oklahoma, Montana and Georgia) and two foreign countries (Germany and Bermuda) and graduated from Broken Arrow High School and the University of Tulsa with a degree in journalism/advertising. She first interned in the advertising world but, when a J-School professor (who also covered politics for the Tulsa World) offered her an internship at the newspaper, she took him up on it. The rest is history. She has served as bridal editor, senior features writer for the women’s section, food editor and is television editor of the Tulsa World. In addition to writing about TV shows and interviewing the stars for “Scene” stories, she also writes a TV column for Weekend and produces the Sunday TV World listings magazine.

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