Tattle: It's news vs. speculation in MJ saga

LIKE MOST celebrity information, the nuggets can usually be divided into two camps: News and speculation.

The "news" has some reliable chance of validity and accuracy; the speculation, tending to be juicier and more ridiculous, sometimes turns out to be valid, but who knows.

When it comes to the death of Michael Jackson, speculation, and it's ugly cousin, conspiracy theorizing (the "Michael-was- murdered"-for-the-insurance/

by-his-doctor/by-THE-MAN stories) are rampant. These stories will often generate the most watercooler chatter, but Tattle is avoiding them - at least until a slow news day. For the time being, there's enough actual MJ "news":

* Jackson's five-page will, dated

July 7, 2002, was filed in Los Angeles yesterday. Michael signed the will and initialed each paragraph.

His entire estate goes to a family trust; his mother, Katherine, becomes the guardian of his children, and his ex-wife Debbie Rowe gets bupkis.

(Bupkis is a legal term.)

In 2002, Jackson estimated his estate at more than $500 million, but if his retirement accounts have been slammed like Tattle's, he's probably now worth about $50.

Katherine and the children are named as beneficiaries of the trust. Should something happen to Katherine, Jackson named longtime friend and mentor Diana Ross to take over.

Guess the will was filed with the Supremes Court.

Jackson's longtime lawyer, John Branca, and music executive John McClain, are named in the will as co-executors.

In a statement, Branca and McClain said: "The most important element of Michael's will is his unwavering desire that his mother, Katherine, become the legal guardian for his three children. As we work to carry out Michael's instructions to safeguard both the future of his children as well as the remarkable legacy he left us as an artist we ask that all matters involving his estate be handled with the dignity and the respect that Michael and his family deserve."

The matters so far, of course, have just been oozing dignity.

* Executors Branca and McClain

moved quickly to take control of all of Jackson's property, going to court to challenge a previous ruling by the judge that gave Katherine control of 2,000 items from Neverland.

Katherine does not have court permission to manage any of her son's financial interests.

Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff said Katherine will stay in charge until Monday, and urged attorneys from both sides to reach a compromise so "that we don't have a difficult time in court."

You'd think a judge would have a better understanding of the way lawyers work: If they reach a quick compromise, Judge, the billable hours are over.

* As fans began to arrive at Nev-

erland Ranch (hotel rooms in the area quickly sold out), an effort to bury Jackson at Neverland fizzled.

E! News reported that Jackson's body was being held at the Hollywood Hills location of Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuaries and that he would be laid to rest there.

(This could be news or speculation. It could also be 100 percent accurate when reported and 100 percent inaccurate by tomorrow. Jackson family decision-making seems to be a tad fluid.)

Burying Jackson at Forest Lawn would make traffic a little more bearable in Santa Barbara County, where authorities had been preparing for tens of thousands of fans to descend on the 2,500-acre ranch for the previously rumored viewing, but it would be a royal security pain for Forest Lawn - reminiscent of when Elvis's body had to be moved to Graceland because the cemetery couldn't deal with the hordes of tourists.

The reason Jackson can't be buried at Neverland is that California's health and safety code makes interring any uncremated remains outside of a cemetery a misdemeanor. Cremated remains can be kept in a home or private mausoleum outside a cemetery.

* A private memorial service for family

and friends could take place at Neverland, most likely after the TBD funeral.

* Details of the Michael Jackson Family

Trust will not be made public.

But that doesn't mean there won't be countless stories citing anonymous sources providing details.

* One of Jackson's most lucrative assets

is his stake in the massive Sony-ATV Music Publishing Catalog, which includes music by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Lady Gaga and the Jonas Brothers, and is estimated to be worth as much as $2 billion.

* Debbie Rowe, who

was married to Jackson in 1996 and filed for divorce three years later, surrendered her parental rights. An appeals court later found that had been done in error, and Rowe and Jackson entered an out-of-court settlement in 2006.

So far, she has not made a claim of parental rights on the children.

* Since his death, Jackson's album sales have been off the wall - "Number Ones," "Essential Michael Jackson," and "Thriller" are the top three albums in the country, and a record-breaking 2.3 million MJ tracks have been downloaded, Nielsen SoundScan said yesterday.

No single artist has sold more than a million digital tracks in a week since Nielsen began counting in July 2004.

When adding in all Jackson 5 songs, as well as sales in Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, digital downloads for the week hit 3.3 million.

Last week the Jackson catalog accounted for 52,000 downloads.

Nothing spurs sales of "Never Can Say Goodbye" like saying goodbye.

* In the speculative "anonymous

source" department, thedailybeast.com's Gerald Posner spoke with an MJ insider, who told him that Jackson was trying to get out of his concert commitment (or at least severely curtail the number of dates) by ingesting enough drugs to get him admitted to the hospital.

He simply misjudged the amount.

"Like a child who doesn't want to go to school," said the source, "Michael thought he could get away from his obligations if he had a 'note from the doctor.' "

Make yourself sick enough to see a doctor and you may end up seeing a coroner.

* While many "interesting" people will

be coming out of the woodwork to make a play for what's left of Jackson's money, someone always has to be first:

TMZ.com reported that Londoner Nona Paris Lola Ankhesenamun Jackson has been saying for months she was married to Jackson and has filed a petition in L.A. County Superior Court asking "that all my husband's properties, monies and assets must be transferred to me immediately" and "my husband's body must be returned to the coroner's body [sic] or the mortuary immediately."

Well, Nona, good luck with that.

Nona also claims that all of Jackson's children are hers and that she didn't authorize them to live with Katherine Jackson.

Crazy as the claim may be, she is the first woman to not only say the children are hers - but that she wants them.

Tattbit* Winners of Tattle's contest for Kathy Davis' book, "Scatter Joy: Living, Giving and Creating a Life You Love," were Jojy Varghese of Philadelphia ("I like to scatter joy by frequently paying for 1-2 riders behind me in the non-EZ Pass lanes"), Shanese Johnson of Philadelphia ("I find joy in being Shane's mom"), Gail M. Palmer of Novi, Mich. ("I like to scatter joy every day by smiling at as many people as possible each and every day"), Lisa Smith of Philadelphia ("I ordered these 'smile' cards from helpothers.org and hand them out. They are just a random act of kindness card that says 'Smile.' I give them to strangers in the supermarket, the toll collector, whoever looks like they need a smile.") and Sharon Edinger of Lansdale ("I scatter joy everyday at the Variety Club camp that I work at by giving out as many hugs as I can to all the kids that come there!"). Your books should arrive shortly. *

Daily News wire services contributed to this report.

Send e-mail to gensleh@phillynews.com.