Los Angeles, July 15: The lawyer for Michael Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe on Tuesday angrily denied a report that she had agreed to forego her parental rights in exchange for a huge cash settlement from the Jackson family.
Rowe, mother of Jackson’s two older children, Prince Michael, 12, and Paris, 11, and is considered to have a strong legal case to be granted custody even though Jackson in his will named his mother, Katherine, as the children’s guardian.
The New York Post reported this week that she had agreed to cede custody to the children’s grandmother in return for 4 million dollars. In an open letter to the paper, her lawyer, Eric George, called the report completely false and demanded a retraction.
“There has been no agreement reached between Ms Rowe and the Jacksons,” George wrote. “Ms Rowe has not and will not give up her parental rights. No determination has been reached concerning custody or visitation. And Ms Rowe has not accepted and will not accept any additional financial consideration beyond the spousal support she and Michael personally agreed to several years ago.”
Both sides are due Monday in court for a custody hearing. Other reports have said that Rowe is negotiating with the Jackson family in a bid to ensure that Jackson’s father, Joe, whom Michael accused of abusing him as a child, is never given control over the children.
–Agency