LOS ANGELES (AFP)
"I am, and have been, very close with my grandson TJ and have
relied on him to help me raise Prince, Paris and Blanket since
the death of their father," Katherine Jackson said in a sworn
statement handed to Judge Mitchell Beckloff.
"While I was away, I assumed that (the children) would be secure
and safe in the hands of the person who had essentially been
acting as an informal co-guardian on many matters with me since
my appointment as guardian."
TJ Jackson's attorney, Charles Shultz, said: "They respect each
other. My client in no way was trying to displace his
grandmother."
Margaret Lodise, an attorney appointed by the court to represent
the children's interests since Jackson's death in 2009, said
disco icon Diana Ross had agreed to eventually serve as
co-guardian, as stipulated in Jackson's will.
Thursday's decision puts an end to the latest Jackson family
drama.
The fractious clan has been embroiled in legal and financial
disputes since the pop star's sudden death in June 2009 from an
overdose of propofol, a powerful anesthetic.
Entertainment media portrayed Katherine Jackson's absence as an
abduction by Michael's siblings, who are allegedly furious they
did not inherit any of the singer's assets, which were left to
his mother and children.
Jackson's ex-doctor, Conrad Murray, was jailed for four years in
November after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter over
the singer's death.
