Michael Jackson paid his mother Katherine an extra $16,000 (£10,670)-a-month to help support his father Joe in the years leading up to his death, according to new legal documents.
The King of Pop's financial records have come under scrutiny after Joe Jackson filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the singer's embattled physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, following allegations the medic administered a fatal dose of the anaesthetic Propofol.
He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter and is awaiting a preliminary hearing in January (11) to determine if he will face trial.
But the Jackson patriarch is seeking unspecified damages from Murray, and new papers recently filed in a Los Angeles court suggest Michael agreed to the increased payment to his mum to help cover Joe's living expenses.
A sworn statement submitted by Michael's alleged former manager, Leonard Rowe, claims Katherine acted as the late star's agent and handed over cash to Joe, according to TMZ.com.
Other court documents, including a declaration from Joe's lawyer Brian Oxman, stated the Thriller hitmaker was paying Katherine £50,000 (£33,330) in the early 2000s, but later upped the amount to $66,000 (£44,000), to take care of the family patriarch too.
Joe is using the financial statements to back up his wrongful death case and prove he has legal standing to sue.
Michael died in June 2009.
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