The King of Pop is dead, and now begins what could turn into a legal battle over the custody of his three children — and what remains of his once-vast fortune.

Michael Jackson, who spent a lifetime and countless millions trying to recapture his lost childhood, has left his own children in legal limbo following his sudden death Thursday at a rented Los Angeles home, apparently of cardiac arrest.

Family associates and legal experts see a storm brewing over the care of 12-year-old Michael Joseph "Prince" Jackson Jr., 11-year-old Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and 7-year-old Prince Michael II Jackson.

Michael Jr. and Paris were in Jackson's sole custody following his 1999 divorce from Debbie Rowe, the children's biological mother. His third child, whom he affectionately called "Blanket," was born to an unknown surrogate who also waived her parental rights.

But it is not known whether Jackson ever wrote a will delineating who would have custody of his children or his estate when he died. He is survived by his parents, his ex-wife Rowe and his eight siblings. His first wife, Lisa-Marie Presley, is not expected to lay claim to any part of his estate.

Many lawyers and associates contacted by FOX News say they believe it was Jackson's intention for his children to pass to his mother, Katherine, the matriarch of the Jackson clan whom Jackson referred to as his "life and soul."

"I do not know of any kind of will or estate planning that Michael would have made," said Brian Oxman, a Jackson family lawyer. "But I know that he believed that if anything ever happened to him that his mother was a wonderful caretaker."

Debra Opri, a former Jackson family spokeswoman who represented photographer Larry Birkhead in his successful suit for custody of Birkhead's child with Anna Nicole Smith, agreed.

Katherine Jackson has been "a fantastic mother to a very large group, and I think these kids will be under her care and they're going to be OK," Opri said. "For a long time now things have been in place as to who would be raising the kids."


source : http://www.foxnews.com