Fawcett’s Partner Left Out of Will
July 27, 2009 by Amber
Filed under Celebrity, Farrah Fawcett
The content of late actress Farrah Fawcett’s will has been made public, with the Daily Mail revealing that the Charlie’s Angels actress included her criminal son, but not her longtime partner, Ryan O’Neal.
According to reports, the bulk of Fawcett’s $5.5 million estate was left to 24-year-old son Redmond O’Neal, in a will that was penned in 2007, shortly after the star’s cancer had spread to her liver.
However, because of O’Neal’s public battle with drug and alcohol addiction – for which he is currently incarcerated in a Los Angeles lock-up – Fawcett’s will stipulates that the money “be placed in a trust fund” that is to be controlled by two executors. O’Neal will receive a monthly allowance, as well as a single lump sum payment with which to buy his own home.
A source explained: “Farrah appointed two trustees to make sure the money supports her son’s journey into sobriety rather than giving him the means to destroy himself. Redmond’s inheritence will be tightly controlled.”
Ryan O’Neal, Fawcett’s partner of more than 15 years, added that he would support his son in any way he could, and said in a statement last week: “I loved [Farrah] so very, very much. Redmond is in the fight of his life but is doing well. I will do everything that is in my power to honor [Farrah's] memory and to protect our son.”
Debbie Rowe Wants Custody of Jackson’s Children
July 2, 2009 by Amber
Filed under Celebrity, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson’s former wife Debbie Rowe has reportedly decided to fight for custody of her two children, Prince Michael Jr. and Paris, whom she carried for the popstar in exchange for a large sum of money.
“I want my children,” Ms Rowe said. “I am stepping up… I have to.”
The reason Rowe has chosen to take the battle to court has to do with Jackson’s appointed guardians for the children – his mother Katherine Jackson, soon to be 80, and close friend Diana Ross, who the children have never met. Rowe is also concerned at the level of Joe Jackson’s involvement in the children’s lives, after the King of Pop accused his father of abuse years ago.
However, there’s a lot of obstacles for the nurse and onetime wife of the pop superstar to overcome, not the least of which is the rumours that she’s not the biological mother of the two eldest Jackson children. Rowe has said that she is willing to submit to any testing, including DNA, to prove that she is their biological mother.
Another of the many obstacles includes Rowe’s 2001 petition to give up her parental rights over the children, in exchange for a house and millions of dollars in cash. Rowe later “reversed her decision” and secured herself visitation rights, but legal experts say this could severly hinder any chance she may or may not have to win custody.
“If she has a strong relationship with her children and… she has seen them somewhat regularly then she has a very strong chance of getting custody,” said Scott Altman, a law professor at the University of Southern California.
“But if… she hardly has visited with her children, they have no relationship at all, they don’t think of her as a mother it will be very difficult for her to get custody.”
Rowe’s lawyers will attend a court hearing on Monday to dispute issues surrounding the Jackson children and his deceased estate, a restraining order against Joe Jackson believed to be among the issues.
Of course, if Rowe does win the suit and gains custody of her children, she will also gain at least partial control of the late popstar’s estate, part of which has been left for his children. The money she would receive for their care is no doubt yet another reason – if not the main reason – Rowe is pushing for custody after all.
[Source]
