what would be BEST for Micheals children

[Cherie762]

those poor kids, thrust in the limelight, to loose their only parent, so sad. Seeems to be a bit of dysfunction ever option of where they could go....what do ya all think...they need to be kept together in my opinion.

[Melissa0116]

Yeah, I wonder who else will come out of the woodworks, as well.  You know when it comes to money and celebrities they tend to flock to these sort of situations.  

I just want to see those children taken care of.  Unfortunately, when being a celebrity, they seem to receive care but not the kind of love and nurturing that they really need.  Of course, this does not apply to all celebrities but most.  They are just so young and so vulnerable at this age.  

[swampcritter]

Obviously, this is a state law issue. Swampy's point of reference is the state where he lived and there biology trumped pretty much everything, which seems fairest because there can't be any fraud involved -- either the genes match or they do not.

[jdwithhcv]

The court will appoint law guardians, that is, attorneys who represent the children.  As you say, it will be interesting to see what the court deems best for the children.

This case will be complicated, considering the unusual family structure.  I wonder who else will come forward to ask for custody.  This is just getting started.

[Melissa0116]

I always thought that when you relinquished parental rights that it was final as well but I only know of this from reasearching this when my brother was going through his divorce from his wife (who had threatened to take the baby away to where she is from Brazil).  

It will be interesting to see what happens in this case.  This is extremely important to the childrens' well being.  We will definitely see.

[jdwithhcv]

The children are the issue of Jackson's wife during their marriage (the older two) and are therefore his children - no adoption necessary.  I would have to see the contract with the surrogate, and the birth certificate of the youngest to form an opinion on that child's status.  Relinquishing parental rights is a final act, at least was when I was practicing law in family court.

[swampcritter]

The relinquishing of rights is usually only valid if the situation at the time the rights are relinquished continues, and death seriously changes things.

Think about it -- it doesn't matter how much your kids misbehave, you cannot just sign a paper and give them to someone else. You can put them up for adoption, but even then the new parents can give the children back to you or force you to pay for them under certain situations (state laws vary, of course).

Of course, it seems that Jackson never adopted the children, which adds a weird legal wrinkle to the whole thing.