Jackson family moves to take charge of star’s affairs

Judge Mitchell Beckloff granted 79-year-old Katherine Jackson temporary guardianship of the children, who range in age from 7 to 12. He did not immediately rule on her requests to take charge of the children’s and Jackson’s estates.

Beckloff scheduled a hearing for July 6 and another for Aug. 3 to consider those issues and whether Katherine Jackson should be appointed the children’s permanent guardian.

L. Londell McMillan, the family’s attorney, said in a statement that the Jacksons are pleased with the results of their filings yesterday.

“Mrs. Jackson deserves custody, and the family should have the administration of the brilliance of Mr. Michael Jackson. Mrs. Jackson is a wonderful, loving, and strong woman with a special family many of us have admired for years. The personal and legal priorities are focused on first protecting the best interests of Mr. Michael Jackson’s children, his family, his memorial services and then preserving his creative and business legacy with the dignity and honor it deserves.’’

When Jackson died Thursday, he left a 12-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter by former wife Deborah Rowe, as well as a 7-year-old son born to a surrogate mother.

The Jackson family said the children - Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., (known as Prince Michael), Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, and Prince Michael II - are living at the Jackson family compound in Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley.

“They have a long-established relationship with paternal grandmother and are comfortable in her care,’’ the family said in court documents.

Family patriarch Joe Jackson, 79, said at a news conference that the children were enjoying playing with other children - something they do not normally do.

The documents state that although Rowe is the mother of the two older children, her whereabouts are unknown. The document simply listed “none’’ for the mother of the youngest child, Prince Michael II.

Supporting Katherine Jackson in her petition bid to administer the estate was Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson.