Jackson left huge catalog of new music for kids

Video: Manager: Jackson’s mom will likely get custody

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   >>> you are a victim.

   >>> first one of the lingering questions tied to the death of michael jackson , what happens to his three children ? msnbc's tamron hall is following that side of the story for us.

   >> good morning. michael jackson 's children have yet to be seen in public since their father died last thursday. but that hasn't stopped the the world from wondering how they are coping with the loss of their only parent and who will care for them now that he's gone? michael jackson went to great lengths to protect his children from the spotlight. but prince, age 1, paris, age 11, and prince michael ii age 7 now face an uncertain future . michael 's mother katherine has been caring for the children over the last few days. michael 's father joe spoke about his grandchildren over the weekend.

   >> what's going to happen with the kids, joe ? who is going to take custody of the children ? how are your grabbndchildren faring?

   >> reporter: some have speculated debbie rowe , the mother of jackson 's two eldest children might try to regain custody of her kids.

   >> debbie rowe would presumptively have a good shot as being the primary custodial parent of two of the children because she is the biological mother and she does have parental rights .

   >> reporter: recent quotes from debbie say she would not seek custody and that michael jackson was not the children 's biological father were a complete fabrication. in an interview with the " times of london ," claims she had to pump michael 's stomach many times due to prescription drug abuse . she says she was the only mother all of michael 's children knew.

   >> there is a law called the de facto parent rule. if you've acted like a child 's parent, even if you are not related for so long that you have, in a sense, become like a parent to the child , the court can recognize you as the legal guardian .

   >> reporter: michael 's will might n might not necessarily clarify those questions.

   >> money may intrigue enough people they'll try to make it a long, drawn-out custody battle and the judge will want to resolve this as soon as possible so that the children can get back to a normal life .

   >> reporter: as normal as possible for three children mourning the death of their superstar father. some reports claim jackson wanted his kids to live with his mother katherine. others suggest that michael believed his former nanny would be the best person to care for his kids. but even if michael 's will stipulates his wishes for the care of his children , it could be contested and no one has officially filed for custody of those children . so they will remain with the jackson family for the time being .

   >> tamron hall , thank you very much .

   >>> the reverend jesse jackson flew to california on friday to spend time with the jackson family . he is with us now. reverend jackson , good morning to you.

   >> good morning.

   >> i know you are here at a friend of the family , not a spokesperson for the family . but you did spend time with them and with michael jackson 's three children . can you tell me how they are handling all of this?

   >> well, let me say, i am not a spokesman, i am a supporter. i've known them since 1967 . a pro fund sense of sadness, the trauma of the swift transition of michael , his mother and father sat together speaking through tears about their son as mrs. jackson said. "i've lost my baby." "he was such a good kid." "i miss him very much." the family seems to be very tight around this sense of sadness. i think the ramification is the people's response. president clinton called while i was talking to them. response in tokyo and bucharest and around the world . but the question is what happened when in michael 's death the doctors did not call them, offer them comfort, did not sign the death certificate , did not talk at that point to the coroner. so the unanswered questions move from inquiry to suspicion. right now that is a real source of pain.

   >> how are the children , reverend jackson ? how are the children holding up to all of this? i know you saw them.

   >> well, they have cousins and they were happily playing with their cousins and secure in their grandparents' compound.

   >> do you believe that the children will remain with their grandparents when everything is said and done? is that the right place for them to be?

   >> well, i choose not to speculate about that. i'm sure that is is an emotional and legal issue that they will have to deal with. they know their grandparents. they grew up around them so they were in the security of the family compound and playing with their first cousins at that point. so that certainly is and has been for them all of their lives a safe haven .

   >> reverend jesse jackson , we greatly appreciate your comments this morning. thank you very much .

   >> thank you very much .

   >>> frank dileo was michael jackson 's manager around also a close friend. frank , good morning to you.

   >> good morning, meredith .

   >> when we spoke on friday you said your focus was going to be the children at this point and making sure that they were taken care of because that's what michael had asked of you. if anything were to happen to him. there is a will. have you seen it?

   >> no, meredith . there is a lot of speculation about this will. the will is in a safe. the lawyer who has the will was out of town, did not return until i believe yesterday. the will will be taken out of the safe today and -- but i do know that there are strict provisions in there about the finances for the children , the finances for the mother , and who will get custody of the children in case of a death.

   >> and do you know what --

   >> i don't know all the particulars, but i know that that is conferred in that will.

   >> so you don't know who would get custody of the children . you just know that it is covered in the will.

   >> yeah. it's covered in the will. more than likely it will be mrs. jackson because michael was extremely, extremely close to her. go ahead.

   >> do you know if debbie rowe has had any contact with the family or with her two biological children ?

   >> i have no idea.

   >> no idea.

   >> i have no idea.

   >> frank , as i said --

   >> i never asked. nobody ever said.

   >> there have been so many reports out there, conflicting reports, including when i talked to you friday you told me you were on your way to the house, actually passed the ambulance. you'd gotten a call that something happened to michael . i read in the paper over the weekend that you were at the house when it happened. clear up some of that and other reports where there are inaccuracies that you know of.

   >> sure. i had heard yesterday that there was a report in the "post" that i was in the house with a bodyguard, i believe, named "tippy" who i never heard of or don't know what that means. that's not true. i got a call, there was a ambulance in front of his house. i got in my car, i went there and the ambulance passed me as i was coming out. so i was not in the house and i haven't been in the house since. i would never go in unless michael actually invited me in, which obviously he couldn't have done.

   >> there are also conflicting reports about michael 's health in general , his doctor reportedly claims that he was very frail. other people said he was in great shape. you saw him every day. how would you describe his condition on a daily basis?

   >> he was in good shape on a daily basis. his heart was strong. his stamina was good. he was interested in doing this. there is a little confusion as to -- about dr. murray . dr. murray has been michael 's physician for a while. i met him through michael who asked me to ask the promoters to hire him for the tour, because he felt that he needed a doctor on the road because of how much perspiring he would do and stuff like that during the show. he wanted to make sure that his nutrition and all his levels were good. the promoter aeg did not go out and hire dr. murray . this was a request from michael . this was his doctor who he wanted put into the touring budget to be paid. that's how that came about. so i hope that clears it up for a lot of people.

   >> all right, frank dileo , as always, thank you very much for your time.

   >> thank you, meredith .

   >>> now let's get a check

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